GRD2/GT-1 at ISO 1600 at night

[Mitch Alland]

...I just had an extended opportunity to use the GRD/GT-1 at a concert at a Pub here in Wichita Falls wide open at f2.4 and ISO 1600.
Lo light, 1/9sec, but the combo performed flawlessly, the longer reach was just what I needed and added grip area allows one to steady the camera perfectly...Your Bangkok series with this lens inspired me to risk using it rather than my S6000fd and I must thank you

Very gutsy, Lili, particularly at ISO 1600! Thanks for the kind words. I look forward to seeing some of the shots.

During this short Friday night walk after dinner I shot 34 shots, of which I am likely to print 9-10: I define "keepers" as the shots that I think are good enough to print. That's a very high proportion for me, as my average keeper percentage was anout 2-3 on a roll of 35mm film. I seem to be getting a higher proportion shooting digitally. As I went through the shots I noticed that I had the aperture set at f/4.0 rather than f/2.4. Had I done the latter, as I thought I was shooting, fewer of the pictures would have had motion blur; but that may not necessarily been a good thing for this series of shots. Actually, I wasn't taking the shooting very seriously, just ambling along — maybe that's also helpful if one is trying to achieve a loose shooting style.

—Mitch/Bangkok
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

 

[Mitch Alland]

Mitch , I"m probably going off the deep end with this thought but I see abit of Robert Longo in this work .... in the sense of Capturing Pure Movement /Blk&White edge...

Interesting, Helen. I looked up Longo's work on the net and can grasp what you mean. But it certainly was not an influence, as I never heard of him before.

—Mitch/Bangkok
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

 

[helenhill]

Oh No, I didn't think you acted under his influence
Your shots stirred me to reminisce his work......All the Best ! Helen

and Lili please Post the Pub Pictures
iso 1600 / night life / will be my next Creative Challenge......thanks to you & Mitch

 

[Maggie O]

I definitely see similarities in Longo's and Mitch's work. A shared love of movement and high contrast, along with a telling sense of grit and geometry. Knowing that Mitch often prints his work large, I would think that these shared concerns would be amplified even more in a gallery.

 

[kai.e.g.]

Oops - correction; I was using a scaled ruler for drawing architectural designs and read off the wrong scale when I wrote above. Your measurements show that the 40mm is quite a bit bigger than my Jupiter 35mm lens at the wide end, but not much bigger at the narrower end. I thought it might have been too good to be true! Luckily, I live in a colder climate (=jacket) and prefer baggy trousers (=more pocket space without looking too silly). I think Lili's point about being able to keep f/2.4 at all 3 focal lengths is a really important one, though.

I can't wait to have one of these cameras so that I can contribute more to this forum than questions! In the meantime, here's a night shot taken with my Nikon Coolpix 950 back in 2001 - buskers in Riga, Latvia. Exif says ISO 320, 1 second exposure, which leads me to suspect that ISO 320 is as high as this camera went. Small-sensored cameras have certainly come a long way in 6 years or so....

 

[nostatic]

I love this shot. You're making me really want to try a GR2 setup like this and see if it "fits" me. You certainly make it sing...

 

[Mitch Alland]

I thought that I might post three more pictures from the same shoot with the GRD2/GT-1 at ISO 1600 — but don't worry after this there are probably only three more, for a total of 12 out of the 34 shot.

Looking at all these pictures I find it interesting to see the various effects that one get from shooting at ISO 1600 with the GDR2, with varying degrees of grain depending on the light and the contrast applied as well as the degree to which one sharpens. Conflating this with varying extent of blur from camera shake makes it interesting to see whether and how mood or emotion emerges even when there virtually is no sharpness — on the basis of relatively little precise visual information in the usual sense. I sort of like the last picture, in which the young woman's eyes have become like those of a mask.

—Mitch/Bangkok
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

 

[Lili]

I thought that I might post three more pictures from the same shoot with the GRD2/GT-1 at ISO 1600 — but don't worry after this there are probably only three more, for a total of 12 out of the 34 shot.

Very good percentage, Mitch!

Looking at all these pictures I find it interesting to see the various effects that one get from shooting at ISO 1600 with the GDR2, with varying degrees of grain depending on the light and the contrast applied as well as the degree to which one sharpens. Conflating this with varying extent of blur from camera shake makes it interesting to see whether and how mood or emotion emerges even when there virtually is no sharpness — on the basis of relatively little precise visual information in the usual sense. I sort of like the last picture, in which the young woman's eyes have become like those of a mask.

Agreed, it gives a sense of vitality, of activity as opposed to static, as I shoot more I realize it is less about putative technical 'perfection' and more about evocation in the image. Your work here emulates that concept precisely.

Bravo, Mitch

 

[helenhill]

Shot 3 is SUPERB
She's Beautiful /Doll Like / A blk & white fast foward urban Fairytale clip
I feel as though i'm spinning on a Carousel looking at this photo
& Yes as Lili said its fascinating the degrees of Grain, Sharpness, & Blur @1600 in varying light
All the Best- helen

 

[Irenaeus]

Incredible stuff, Mitch!

I do like a lot of your other work but this series has so many that have such immediate emotional impact that I'm just blown away! (And that before breakfast in Montana!)

Thanks so very much. Really moving pictures. You're sketching with the broad side of the charcoal here....

Irenaeus

 

[Mitch Alland]

Thank you, Iranaeus: sucj appreciation really makes it rewarding to post these pictures. Here are the final three from this series shot on Friday night with the GRD2 and the 40mm tele-converter:

—Mitch/Bangkok
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

 

[ShiroKuro]

I love the 1st of the last 3 you posted .... using the chaotic background to accent the people in the foreground .. really draws me into this scene ,all that movement really brings this shot to life ,I can almost here the noise .. seems if you capture the right balance of highlights and shadows the grain looks great .... I notice that mid tones get sort of blotchy in certain types of lighting ..... like the arm and face man in the second photo wearing the ice tea apron ...

 

[Mitch Alland]

Thanks, Charley. I also like the chaotic background in the first of the last three, but this type of picture obviously cannot be seen beforehand: you press the shutter and if the muse is with you it works. As for the second picture in the last set — BTW it's a woman in the tea apron — it was difficult to avoid blotchiness in the face but the arm is quite fixable, as it's a part of the burning in the corners of this picture, a vignette that I threw in.

Here is the final picture in this series. I welcome comments and critiques: for example, should some of these be thrown out?

—Mitch/Bangkok
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

 

[nostatic]

I'm far from an expert, and I don't play one on tv (nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night), but I'm still enamored with the one I quoted above, especially the look/energy of the woman on the right. I' wonder about a crop on her with the car and sign light in the upper right.

In the last set of three, the middle one bugs me somewhat, in part because the sign is so clear and the woman is so noisy. That may be the effect you were going for but I find it jarring and it takes me out of the scene. Other than that I love these shots as they really catch the feel of the street of a large Asian city at night. I've never been to Bangkok, but Beijing, Hong Kong, and especially Shanghai totally amaze me. Your work has really inspired me. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Mitch Alland]

Thanks for the comments, nostatic. On the picture you like, do you mean to crop out the woman on the left or the sign and car on right. My feeling is not to crop at all because the woman on the left is important in terms of composition because of the white blouse — these are university students in uniform — and in terms of meaning as well; the sign on the right opens up the space which for my tasre would be too closed in without it.

In the last set of three, I find the middle one problematic as well: the trouble is that this type of lighting at night is very high contrast, so that while the exposure was fine for the sign the woman in the tea apron on the right was heavily underexposed — you win some and you lose some.

—Mitch/Bangkok
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

 

[nostatic]

Hi Mitch, I was actually referring to cropping out the woman on the left and keeping everything from the edge of her to the right edge of the frame (essentially slicing the image in half), but I think you are correct that you need the balance/counterpoint that the pair provides. I often get "good ideas" that really don't work when I try them . Such is the life of experiment. And I totally agree that the sign on the upper right really is critical to the shot, as is the backlit storefront gates behind the woman on the right.

 

[ShiroKuro]

The free style and flow of these images are just fantastic .... I wondered wether or not you new the possible effect before hand ..... It seems the Muse is often on your shoulder .... Do you think in time you would start to have an idea as to what to expect shooting in this style at a high ISO ?Do you think it is something you like enough to continue doing ?
Charley

 

[Mitch Alland]

Charley,

The Muse, she is fickle — so that the best you can do is to go for the composition that you can see; and I mean looking directly at the subject while using the LCD to establish the edges of the frame and hope that the Muse will throw you a crumb from time to time. In my case I feel that shooting this way encourages a much looser and fluid approach than using a viewfinder. I think that even with a lot of experience it's difficult to predict the results of camera or subject motion — but all this is of course easier with digital than we film because of the shortness of the feedback loop in terms of having the possibility to review the shot on the LCD. But, actually, I wasn't reviewing the shots at all — I never do — because it would have interrupted the flow of walking down the street, reacting to what I saw and shooting. I will certainly continue doing this type of shooting, but not exclusively of course.

An additional thought: an important part of shooting in this loose style is to be in the mood to do so: if you don't feel "it" and don't feel that you have to react to what you see, then you don't see anything and might as well leave the camera in its case — that's how I feel anyway. And don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean that you have to see wonderful and "happy" things — I tend to have a dark vision — you just have to see.

Finally, this type of photography is not that widely appreciated — on my flickr site these pictures certainly get fewer views than those of pretty women or nudes — but I'm gratified that some people on this forum like them. Thank you.

—Mitch/Bangkok
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

 

[TRSmith]

Your photos take me to a world that I am unlikely to ever see with my own eyes. My favorite from the most recent is the lone woman seated in what looks like an outdoor cafe. And, while the Flikr audience may visit the more obvious pretty/nude women photos, they're missing out on the beautiful women that can be found in many of yours. Nice work.

 

[Lili]

The Muse, she is fickle — so that the best you can do is to go for the composition that you can see; and I mean looking directly at the subject while using the LCD to establish the edges of the frame and hope that the Muse will throw you a crumb from time to time. In my case I feel that shooting this way encourages a much looser and fluid approach than using a viewfinder. I think that even with a lot of experience it's difficult to predict the results of camera or subject motion — but all this is of course easier with digital than we film because of the shortness of the feedback loop in terms of having the possibility to review the shot on the LCD. But, actually, I wasn't reviewing the shots at all — I never do — because it would have interrupted the flow of walking down the street, reacting to what I saw and shooting. I will certainly continue doing this type of shooting, but not exclusively of course.

Mitch, I have learned a great deal about this new palette from you, my style is not your style, but your method of working with the LCD has been integrated into mine, thank you for leading by example

An additional thought: an important part of shooting in this loose style is to be in the mood to do so: if you don't feel "it" and don't feel that you have to react to what you see, then you don't see anything and might as well leave the camera in its case — that's how I feel anyway. And don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean that you have to see wonderful and "happy" things — I tend to have a dark vision — you just have to see.

Exactly so, while this is true for all art styles, it is expecially so for this one

Finally, this type of photography is not that widely appreciated — on my flickr site these pictures certainly get fewer views than those of pretty women or nudes — but I'm gratified that some people on this forum like them. Thank you.

—Mitch/Bangkok
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/[/QUOTE]

I very much keep track of your work, don't let the view counts get you down