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The struggle to make an impact in a noisy, digital world

Jack Jams, Red River Street – Austin, Texas

In this increasingly connected and noisy world, it is hard to make an impact. — to rise above the background clutter — to get noticed. I think about this all the time as I put my photographs out there and post to this blog. How do I increase my audience so that I can share my thoughts and images with more people? It is an exciting, brave new world. More than ever, individuals can put their art out there and broadcast it to the world. This opportunity has never existed before in human history.

I’ve talked about and featured photographs of Kao=S, a band that fuses traditional Japanese instruments with rock. I’ve taken a keen interest in this band, not only for their unique music but because I identify with their struggle to break through — to get noticed and build an audience. Unlike the other Japanese bands I’ve seen in Austin, Kao=S takes every opportunity to be heard. Beyond performing at clubs, they took to the streets to perform in front of anyone that would listen.

Shuji on Red River Street #1 – Austin, Texas

Daisuke and Jack, Red River Street – Austin, Texas

These photographs are from one of their impromptu concerts. They setup on Red River Street in the middle of the SXSW 2013. You can feel the energy, and a dynamic that’s different from a stage performance. I have tremendous respect for artists willing to perform in front of an unfamiliar audience.

Kaori performing, Red River Street – Austin, Texas

I see many parallels between music and photography. Both are tremendously impacted by digital copies and easy world-wide distribution. Both art forms are stolen by many people without a thought about the consequences. But ultimately, beyond the fear of theft, the fear of irrelevance is stronger. What good is art if it isn’t seen and heard by others? And though I don’t get the impact of performing directly in front of a crowd, I suppose I post my photos to put a piece of me out there. Perhaps something that will outlast me, in the digital ether, long after I’m gone.

Jack with his shamisen, Red River Street – Austin, Texas

Shuji on Red River Street #2 – Austin, Texas

While I don’t think photography has the same visceral impact as music, it’s the way I’m trying to leave my mark. I feature these photos as a proxy for my struggles to be seen. Photographs of me taking pictures or post-processing doesn’t seem as cool as these guys jamming on the street. But the same struggles are there, with any artist, in this modern, digital world. I’m glad that, in some small way, I can share the artistry of Kao=S through my art of capturing life in the city.

Kao=S on Red River Street – Austin, Texas

Click on the photographs to see a larger image and hover over the photos to see the exposure detail.

Posted by atmtx | May 16, 2013 | Categories: Austin, Canon 7D, Canon EF 50mm F1.4, Olympus E-PM2, Panasonic Leica 25mmf1.4 | Tags: Kao=S, Kaori Kawabuchi | 3 Comments »

The Olympus E-P5, is it worth it?

Olympus E-P5

I mentioned on last Friday’s post that I thought the E-P5 was Olympus’ take on Fujfilm X100S. — the retro style, the packaged 35mm prime (34mm to be exact) lens and the premium pricing to match. My friend Mike aptly says it’s closer to a Fuji X-E1 because of the interchangeable lenses. Even though the X-E1 does not yet off a 35mm equivalent, he has a good point. Either way, it seems like Olympus created an upscale camera that echoes cameras of a bygone era. The big question is, is it worth the premium price?

I’ve been busy with my, yet unannounced, equipment changes so I really didn’t look into the E-P5, until today. I knew I wasn’t going to get one any time soon. After all, I already bought an E-PM2, late last year and the image quality should be the same. But what if I didn’t get the E-PM2? Would it make sense to buy the E-P5? As I already mentioned, it’s pretty much the camera I wanted last year — it has most the features on my wish list.

First, let’s compare the E-P5 vs. the OM-D E-M5. The two cameras mostly share the same feature set. Sure the body style is different, but they both have the same sensor, same image processor, the roughly the same 5 axis image stabilizer and the same speedy focusing system. You lose the water resistance and the EVF (Electronic View Finder) on the E-P5 but gain WiFi, 1/8000s max shutter speed and a faster 1/320s flash sync speed. The OM-D body is $999, the same price as the E-P5. However, keep in mind that the body-only E-P5 doesn’t come with an EVF. Bought separately, the EVF costs more than $200. So effectively, the E-P5 body is sold at at least a $200 premium.

Second, the E-P5 replaces the E-P3 introduced in 2011. The E-P3 with the standard $100 kit lens ran $899. Subtract out the kit lens and a fictional body-only E-P3 configuration should run $799, again $200 lower than the E-P5 body-only price.

Third, assuming you support my premise that Olympus is competing against the Fuji X100S with the 35mm equivalent lens, consider this. The Fujifilm X100S is priced at $1299. The Olympus E-P5 with the 17mm lens (34mm equivalent) and the EVF is packaged at $1499. Now, despite the retro look of both cameras, they are very different beasts. Direct comparisons are a bit of a stretch, but let me try. On the plus side for Fuji, you get a very good hybrid optical/EVF, arguably better image quality, true analog exposure controls and an attractive well designed body with a seamlessly integrated viewfinder. The E-P5 has the advantage of a world-class in-body image stabilizer and the flexibility of interchangeable lenses. People can quibble of the price but I believe the two cameras should be priced the same. Certainly, I find it hard to justify a $200 premium over the X100S.

My conclusion, the Olympus E-P5 is overpriced by $200. The body only price should be $799 and the kit price should be $1299. Still expensive, but it makes sense based on the competition. So is the camera worth it? Only you can answer that question, however, if I were in the market for an Olympus, I wouldn’t pay $999 for the body or $1499 for the kit. So despite my fondness for Olympus micro 4/3, I can’t recommend the E-P5 at the current price.

I also predict that the prices will fall fairly quickly. Olympus will inevitably have a $200 rebate or just reduce the price. No guarantees of course, but that’s been Olympus’ pattern over the last couple of years. What do you think? Is the E-P5 worth it to you?

Posted by atmtx | May 14, 2013 | Categories: Equipment, Olympus E-P5 | 13 Comments »

Jasper’s Happy Hour, Sangrias and the XZ-1

Three House Made Sangrias, Jasper’s – Austin, Texas

I’m carrying around my Olympus XZ-1 point and shoot, more often these days. My main goal, to capture life. While I use my mirrorless Pens as a lightweight alternative to DSLRs during my photo oriented events, I don’t carry those cameras everyday. I find the XZ-1 a bit smaller and with the zoom lens, more versatile than my usual prime lens setup on the Olympus E-PM2.

On a recent Friday afternoon, a group of us decided to go to Happy Hour at Jasper’s, an upscale restaurant serving down home food. It’s been an unusually comfortable Austin spring and we sat outside — details captured courtesy of my XZ-1. Of course people do this kind of photography all the time with their smartphones. But, I’m sure you can tell that there is a noticeable quality difference. These photos are nice enough that I don’t have “pretty them up” with trendy insta-filter effects.

Happy Hour Pizza, Jasper’s – Austin, Texas

Happy Hour Ribs, Jasper’s – Austin, Texas

While I’ve casually shot food before, I’ve never liked the way they turned out. Ironically, I find doing urban landscapes in dark places easier than capturing food. I found out recently that part of the trick in food photography is to use a longer focal length. This has the effect of compressing the elements so that the different items on the plate don’t look too far apart from each other.

An Arial View of Sangria, Jasper’s – Austin, Texas

I tend to shoot wide-angle primes so I wasn’t getting enough compression. The same goes for typical smartphones too. The XZ-1 has a zoom lens so I can now step back and zoom into the food. The pizza was shot at a 65mm equivalent and the ribs, 60mm. Of course, like all photography, good lighting is essential. Luckily, I was under a covered porch but also surrounded by bright, natural light.

Cute Dog at Happy Hour, Jasper’s – Austin, Texas

The Sangria was tasty and the dog was cute. As a bonus, I captured a decent view of the interior of Jasper’s on the way to the restroom. I locked the camera on ISO 100, braced it on a ledge and got a nice clean shot at 1/4 second. Not too bad for a point and shoot. Of course, I shot all my photos in RAW and did my post processing in Aperture 3.

Jasper’s Interior – Austin, Texas

All photographs taken with my Olympus XZ-1 point and shoot.

Click on the photographs to see a larger image and hover over the photos to see the exposure detail. Multiply the focal length by 4.66 to get the 35mm equivalent

Posted by atmtx | May 13, 2013 | Categories: Austin, Olympus XZ-1 | Tags: Happy Hour, Jasper's, Sangria | 6 Comments »

No Adobe product was used to process this photo

Adobe House, Institue of Texan Cultures – San Antonio, Texas

I had to chuckle at the recent furor over Adobe’s new Photoshop pricing model. You see, I use no Adobe products at all to process my photos. Yes, and I do shoot in RAW and post-process every single photograph I post. I just have a completely non-Adobe workflow. I have nothing against Adobe, other than Photoshop and their Creative Suite is damned expensive. But I’m not angry with them. These are pro level tools and they should be priced accordingly. I just choose not to use them. Perhaps because I’m cheap.

My friend and photographer, Mike, was astonished at how little I spend on processing software. That’s good because, I own an embarrassing number of cameras, that I need to pay for. Actually, I do have a couple of Adobe products but I just don’t use them. I bought an heavily discounted copy of Lightroom 3 once. I tested it and my verdict, meh. My wife bought Photoshop Elements 8 for $50 and I used it on rare occasions to run Topaz plugins. Since I got Topaz photoFXlab, I don’t even need Elements anymore.

I use just one package for 99% of my non-HDR photographs, Aperture 3 from Apple. It costs $79.99 from the App Store. Unfortunately for PC people, this package is not available under Windows. I use Aperture to do RAW conversions which are done transparently. There is no goofy “Develop” module or “Library” module. Just one seamless non-modal environment. My 45,000+ photographs are also managed by Aperture and I also upload my photos to Smugmug and watermark them automatically too.

For the other 1%, I use Topaz plugins, Topaz DeNoise 5 and Topaz BW Effects. I now use Topaz photoFXlab to run Topaz plugins without using Photoshop Elements. The photoFXlab also allows me to work in layers if I want to edit and make changes with the plugins. The program is inexpensive and starts up a lot faster than Elements. Also, Topaz usually has some holiday specials where they’ve offered 50% off.

For my HDRs, I use a cocktail of up to 3 applications. I use Photomatix Pro, the granddaddy and some say it’s still the best for HDR creation. With discount coupons out there, you can get if for about $85. I sometimes use Pixelmator for layer blending after I do my initial HDR merging with Photomatix. This is where the real artistry of HDR comes in. This program has a beautiful interface and is another Mac only program, available on the App Store for an amazing $14.99. You can use Photoshop to do layer blending too but I prefer to spend only $15. The downside of Pixelmator, it doesn’t run Photoshop plugins. Finally, I use Aperture 3 to sharpen, tweak colors, increase saturation and of course, store and catalog my HDR photos.

So that’s it. The full extent of my post-processing software. So if you don’t do HDRs and don’t need the Topaz plugins, your total software outlay, $79.99. By the way, the RAW software updates on the Mac are free via Software update built right into the Operating System. That means that I don’t have to keep on re-buying Aperture when I buy a new camera with a new RAW format.

Click on the photograph to see a larger image and hover over the photo to see the exposure detail.

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Posted by atmtx | May 11, 2013 | Categories: Post Processing | Tags: Apert, Pixelmator, Topaz Labs | 11 Comments »

The Olympus E-P5 to take on the Fujifilm X100S?

Olympus E-P5

Today’s Olympus E-P5 announcement is interesting. Olympus is clearly going after the Fujifilm X100S market or at least ride on its coattails. A small, classically styled camera with a fast 35mm equivalent prime lens. It’s a shrewd marketing attempt, but will it work?

There is almost nothing new about the E-P5, in terms of features. It uses the same excellent sensor already used on the OM-D, E-PL5 and E-PM2. It uses the same ground breaking 5-axis image stabilizer that’s on the OM-D. It is wrapped in a new design that evokes retro cameras, especially the two-toned silver and black model. The optional VF-4 sets a new Olympus benchmark for resolution and the built in WiFi is the first in for Olympus micro 4/3.

But the biggest news is how these features are put together and marketed. There is no kit zoom option, unusual for cameras these days. It’s sold body only, without a lens or with the new 17mm f1.8 prime lens which gives you a 34mm equivalent view. The 17mm is now available in black or silver to better harmonize with the body. It makes sense, I guess. It is a premium Pen and the feature set distinguishes it from the OM-D line. Image quality wise, it should be exactly the same as any current Olympus micro 4/3 camera.

The E-P5 is really the camera I was waiting for and wanted to buy last year. Except, I ended up buying the low-cost E-PM2 because I couldn’t wait. Am I getting the E-P5? No. Not right now, anyway. There are some nice features in the E-P5 but ultimately the image quality is the same. Perhaps, someday, I’ll pickup a refurbished model if I can get it inexpensively.

How does the E-P5 compare against the Fujifilm X100S? Well despite some tweaks, design changes and repackaging, the camera is still a Pen. Its advantage over the X100S is in its versatility of interchangeable lenses and its class leading image stabilization. But despite the two toned design, and the retro Olympus lettering, the design is a bit ungainly, especially with the EVF attached. It lacks the uniform and classically proportioned style of the Fuji. The high ISO image quality of the X100S is better, though the Fuji details are softer and its RAW processing is till not up to snuff. For most people, though, I think the haptics and the user interface will make the bigger difference. On the Fujifilm X100S, you have an aperture ring, shutter speed dial and an exposure compensation dial. Old school, tactile and simple. The E-P5 still has conventional “computer like” controls.

Olympus now has four micro 4/3 cameras in a narrow price range. The tack they took with the E-P5 does makes sense. They’ve managed to distance themselves from the lower-end Pens via better build and nostalgia. They differentiate themselves from the SLR styling of the OM-D by appearing more like the classic, old school film Pen. Hope it works. At least this camera has more personality than the black, lumpy mini-DSLR look of the Panasonic micro 4/3 line.

Posted by atmtx | May 10, 2013 | Categories: Equipment, Olympus E-P5 | 19 Comments »