I used my fastest lens, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM. I expected to struggle with low light, but the struggle turned out to be the various colored lights on stage throughout the night. I had trouble getting the photographs to look right in post-processing. At the beginning of the show, I did have some problems with focus as well, and I eventually resorted for autofocus for most of the night. The lighting necessitated spot metering in order to get face colors as close to normal as possible, even if it sacrificed the tones on clothing or the background.

Even with careful concentration, many of the photographs are blurry. it would have been better to use a tripod, but I was also trying to stay out of the way of the spectators and performers.

One of the XTIs weakness when compared to later models is noise with high ISO settings. While this is hardly noticeable when the photographs reduced in size for Facebook or even Flickr, it is much more apparent in full 100% view. I have yet to print any of these for another look.

© All rights reserved.

My XTi may not live up to the potential within this lens. I’ve been saving some money for a full frame 5D Mark II, but it seems likely that Canon will release the Mark III some time next year. I now plan to restrain myself until the Mark III has been released.

XTi, EF 50mm, f/3.5, 1/80 s, ISO 400 — view flickr page

None of the photos stand out for me to include as an example, however. This photograph is one of many that focuses on the red rocks.

XTi, EF-S 17-85mm at 17mm, f/10, 1/50 s, ISO 200 — view flickr page

The sky wasn’t clear once during my entire vacation to Arizona, which led to more interesting photographs.

I have published separate sets for Sedona and The Grand Canyon.

And now for some personal news. A few weeks ago, I began taking a Saturday morning class at the Arts Council of Princeton. I am hoping to improve my skills, particularly to find good guidance for spotting great photographic opportunities, building my aesthetic sensibilities, and improving my technique through every stage of shooting, including “post-production.” I have already picked up a few invaluable techniques that will help improve the balance and look of my photographs through Photoshop.

Currently, none of my photographs posted on Flickr have been corrected using Photoshop; the way they are posted is the way the are pulled from the camera. I do plan on selecting a few good photographs from future sessions to balance levels and perform other minor adjustments. I also plan on including my best results from this class in another set on Flickr and here on Photophyte.

In aerial establishing shots in the series, the Princeton University student center doubles as the hospital.

XTi, EF-S 17-85mm at 17mm, f/10, ISO 100 — view flickr page

In person, the building is not curved, I’m pretty sure. The wider-angle lens seems to have distorted euclidean geometry.

If you look closely — and this can be aided by clicking on the photograph for a larger image or visiting Flickr for the original — you will see Princeton’s shield logo through the windows of the building. This is one detail I have yet to see on House.

While I’m not particularly impressed with the photographs I managed to take on Sunday, I was able to capture two students playing Frisbee outside of the student center. View the set on Flickr for some samples from the day. I spent time with the 17-85mm exemplified above, the 50mm, and the 70-300mm. The latter was helpful for getting closer shots of the Frisbee players without getting in their way.

Photography was disallowed once within the exhibition, but I managed to grab a few pictures outside and inside the Franklin institute itself. I’ve uploaded most of these photographs to a set on Flickr. I decided to take only my newest lens, the 50mm f/1.4. Without zoom functionality, I found it challenging to frame photographs as well as I had wanted.

Here are two of my favorites from the day. They both focus on hands. First, Amy’s hands.

XTi, EF 50mm, f/1.4, ISO 200 — view flickr page

At full size, I didn’t get the focus quite right. I could have been more successful with a narrower aperture.

In the atrium of the Franklin Institute stood a statue of Rumblebuffin, a character from the Narnia adventures, advertising the exhibit. Here’s his hand.

XTi, EF 50mm, f/1.4, ISO 800 — view flickr page

Here, the wide aperture offered an advantage of nicely blurring the rest of the statue to focus on Rumblebuffin’s hand. More time, warmer weather, and more courage might have allowed me to get some more photography practice in while visiting the City of Brotherly Love.

The Franklin Institute is named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, so here’s a photo of old Benny greeting visitors who come in off the street rather than up the stairs from the parking garage.

XTi, EF 50mm, f/2.8, ISO 800 — view flickr page

My favorites are numbers 6, 14, 28 (for the view of the Capitol through the window), 36 (nice watch), and 47 (that guy is awesome).

XTi, EF 70-300 at 115mm, Av, f/4.5, ISO 1600 — view flickr page

This is one of my favorite photos so far with my camera. It was taken on July 26, 2008 at a Mets game at Shea Stadium. I don’t know who these guys are, but they were into the game. I like the way the depth of field puts maybe two of the three faces into sharp focus.

Blue and orange are great colors together. The Mets made a good choice when they decided on combining the Brooklyn Dodgers’ blue with the New York Giants’ orange when the team was originally formed in the 1960s. The natural light and the camera’s sensors worked together well to capture these colors, and the addition of black is nice, as well.

So I’ll start off by listing the equipment I’ve managed to acquire over the past year or so.

Camera bodies

Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera

This is my main camera, a digital single lens reflex (dSLR) camera. The Digital Rebel XSi is a newer version of this camera body, and it is only a little more expensive. I would have purchased the XSi if it had been available when I was initially shopping.

The XTi and XSi are the “budget” dSLRs offered by Canon. The professional dSLRs can cost twice as much. Besides the price, the difference between the budget dSLRs and the more expensive versions is the size of the image sensor. The XTi and XSi slightly crop the image that’s delivered through the lens. Despite this, the lower cost cameras account for this cropping and photos still look as great as the lenses deliver.

Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera

I bought this camera to have a good option for carrying around in my pocket almost all the time. Without dragging my equipment with me everywhere I go, if I feel the need to grab a quick snapshot, I’ll be able to do so.

The image quality is nowhere near as nice as what I can get with the XTi and a plethora of lenses. In a tight spot, for snapshots that are destined for Facebook rather than posterity, this camera is perfect.

Lenses

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM Lens

Soon after purchasing the XTi kit, which included the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, I replaced the basic lens with one with a little more range and better quality.

For now, I keep this lens attached to the camera, and it functions as my all-purpose walk-around lens.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens

The main reason I purchased this telephoto zoom lens was to take great photographs at Shea Stadium. Even with the telephoto lens, there isn’t as much zoom as there is with cheaper cameras, but the picture quality is much better.

This was a great lens to walk around the San Diego Zoo with, as well. It let me capture some great close-ups of animals far back in their cages or other habitats.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens

This prime lens is fast, which from what I understand, means that it can achieve fast shutter speeds while gathering enough light information thanks to its ability to use a large aperture. I like using this lens indoors. Since it is prime, with a fixed focal length rather than a zoom, I have to move around a lot more to frame the subject as I like.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM 1-to-1 Macro Lens

I’m looking towards the future with this lens. While I’ve been able to take great photos with my XTi, this lens will shine when I eventually upgrade my body to a 5D Mark III. I haven’t had much of a chance to use the lens for macro photography purposes, but as I find more time, I will do so.

Accessories

Canon 430EX Speedlite Flash

This flash unit has recently been replaced with the new version, the Canon 430EX Speedlite II, which has a faster recycle time and costs about $50 more. I try to use natural light as much as possible, but where this flash is used best is when I use it to fill in shadows caused by ambient light.

Canon RC1 Wireless Remote Control

I haven’t had a chance to put the wireless remote control to the test, but it should help when eliminating shake due to pressing the shutter button in low light or slow shutter situations. I may try it out today simply to get some shots in which I am included.

Canon 100DG Bag

I use this bag for transporting all of my equipment. There is more than enough space to fit all of my current lenses and accessories. In addition to the lenses, I keep the XTi battery charger and several extra batteries, USB cables, some cleaning materials.

There are many accessories I still need. I have a UV filter for each lens, but these are the only filters I own. I’ll be looking to add circular polarizers at some point soon. I would like to add a wide angle lens to the collection, possibly the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens and/or the Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM Wide Angle Lens.