Full Gear On!

Full Gear On, a photo by Mervin Chiang on Flickr.

I think my set is complete and ready for action. I was putting everything to test mobility, weight and practicality...

- 7D with 17-55mm - Check!
- 7D mounted with 580EX II connected to battery pack - Check!
- Lightsphere - Check!
- 28mm in "hot-swappable" bag - Check
- 40D with 70-200mm - Check!
- 40D mounted with 430EX - Check!
- I look scary... - Check!

Will be fun to put all this into practice though... Kinda like in the Singapore army with all my gear on ready for those simulated battles in the jungle :P

OK, I'll stop sounding and looking weird now...

A Timely Reminder...

LOTR - Mikaela Ern Chiang, a photo by Mervin Chiang on Flickr.

I heard this on the radio it struck a nerve. Not that I am exactly guilty of this entirely.. yet.. but still a good reminder. So here is the way the parable goes...

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A little girl greeted her daddy as he entered the door late one night and excitedly asked, "How much do you earn earn an hour daddy?" Getting slightly annoyed and after having a long day, daddy replied, "not now honey. Not even your mum knows how much I earn an hour. Go play." The little girl persisted. "Daddy, can you please tell me how much you earn an hour?" Feeling really frustrated and just wanted to go get a shower, he replied, "$20 an hour. Why do you want to know?" Ignoring the question, she asked, "Can I borrow $10 please?" Getting really mad by now, he remanded, "NO! Go play with your toys, I have no time for this." and left to the bathroom.

Later that night, having calmed down and feeling a little guilty. Daddy thought to himself, "maybe she is trying to work out if I can give her the money to buy something..." So he decided to go to her room hoping she's still not asleep and asked, "Mikaela, are you asleep yet?" To which the little girl sleepily replied, "almost..." "Here's your $10 you asked for." She immediately sprung up took the money and reached under her pillow and grabbed what looked like a mountain of coins and said, "I have enough now! Daddy, can you sell me 1 hour of your time please?"
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This story is fictitious, but I am reminded once again to guard myself from this. Between work, photographer, iPhone-time, gardening, social meetings and even church activities! We must not lose ourselves in this sea of activities and forget the simple things like spending dedicated time with our kids. I am guilty of this on several occasions already...

The Gary Fong Lightsphere Test

The Gary Fong Lightsphere Test, a photo by Mervin Chiang on Flickr.

Got the Gary Fong Lightsphere diffuser attachment for my flash. I'm going to borrow someone's comment on the fact that the thing is a "vanity bulb" as the ice breaker to taking photos :)

You should see the thing! Google it and you'll see... It's huge and really like a light bulb! Anyway...

From the left - My el cheapo $2 cloth looking sock diffuser

Middle - No diffuser, light bounced from the ceiling

On the right - Gary Fong's vanity light bulb...

I like the right one the best. What do you think?

Timeless Classic of Love, originally uploaded by Mervin Chiang.

I took this photo quite a while back when we had friends over for a holiday and we all went down to the coast for a morning breakfast before heading out to the beach.

At this awesome breakfast place out the back room was this really big clock and the decoration of the place was a photographer's haven! Full of texture and character. To top it off, I saw this loving couple having breakfast just in front of the clock. I couldn't resist my urges and asked if they would like to be photographed. A quick pose and a few clicks later... I got the picture out of my head and into the digital world!

I feel this really represented the timeless language of love. I wish to grow old and have still nice Saturday breakfasts with Kat. Hope you enjoy this photo as much as I did!

Side note: My Flickr to Blogger posting link is not working anymore... WHY? :-((

Screen Callibration - Ouch

Screen Callibration - Ouch, a photo by Mervin Chiang on Flickr.

Wow! I'm starting to do prints seriously and I'm thinking that my eyes are playing tricks on me. To be honest, up until now, I haven't really cared much about calibrating my screen for print as I've always thought that there wouldn't be much difference from screen to print and the difference would be minor.

However, now that I am doing serious printing, there's a need to calibrate it properly especially when I sent 2 photo books to print and they both came back too saturated. I did a simple "eye ball" calibration. That is:
1. Printed a high quality natural light with proper skin tones photo on high quality paper.
2. Put that next to my screen and used a special program to view the photo
3. adjusted colors, color temperatures and gamma on the screen.

The next step is to get a Spyder or something, but just by doing this simple visual thing, I get such a radical difference!

Poll question: which is better? The top one or the bottom one on your screen?

Brokenvase Photos' Got a Print Pricelist!

5 Friends and a Toddler, a photo by Mervin Chiang on Flickr.

I've finally got around to completing my chosen list of printers for various products. From normal photo prints and enlargements to Canvases and photo books.

What you'll realise though is that I will never be able to compete in price with your "mass printers" like Big W or Harvey Norman. You will however, get a more controlled quality print instead. I can't control what printers customers use once they get the digital negatives from me. Their printers may have off colors or copped the image unprofessionally.

What I'll do before printing is to treat or re-treat the images if required before sending them to the printers and ensure optimal final quality before delivery.

Prices if interest here: http://tinyurl.com/bvpricelist

Retouching Birth Marks

Retouching Birth Marks, originally uploaded by Mervin Chiang.

Retouching is sometimes viewed as an art form or a skill once highly revered during film days. Now with modern technology it is relatively easy. Spots are easily removed. Double chins and eye bags are "photoshopped" out.

The question is, do we want to? Many people might jokingly ask for it. But do you really want a "porcelain" looking family portrait? Sure if it were a fashion magazine shoot, but for family and children, don't you want to retain some "realness" in the photos?

This photo is an example of that. I did 2 versions for the parents to decide which they want. The "could have been" shot versus the reality shot. They chose to keep the reality! They felt that it is what made her a unique individual. In fact she is proud of this birth mark she has! I was told that she'll be upset if I took it out.

I have known Isabel since she was young and I can tell that this mark of hers is slowly fading. Who knows? When she is older, it'll be completely gone and photos are her only way to remember she had them.

Interesting learning!