Canon 300D , EF 70-200/2.8L IS USM @70mm , f/8.0 , 1/30s , ISO 100 , RAW

An advertising style photo for the DPChallenge theme billboard.

Canon 300D , EF 50/1.4 USM , f/18 , 2/3s , ISO 100 , RAW

A study in white-on-white.

This served as a light on white entry for DPChallenge.

Canon 300D , EF 100/2.8 Macro USM , f/8.0 , 1/10s , ISO 100 , RAW

A small potted bamboo plant that decorates our bathroom looks much more majestic when lit against a dark background.

Canon 300D , EF 100/2.8 Macro USM , f/4.0 , 1/8s , ISO 100 , RAW

Took a pretty high-key photo to start. Wasn’t easy to get the camera pointed at myself, so I used a bigger frame, this crop is only about a quarter of the original.

Using curves, and dodging/burning, I increased the contrast, separated the parts of the face. Using a hue/saturation layer, I colorized it slightly to a blue, dropped the saturation way down. A quick stroke for the border, and that’s all.

This was an entry for the DPChallenge theme Self Portrait III.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, in no small part because my Digital Rebel was in the shop getting the back-plane autofocus components replaced. It’s now back safe and sound, and seems to be fixed.

Not having a camera got me itching, and when combined with the fact that I’ve really wanted something more portable to stick in my pocket at all times, was enough motivation to go get a pocket camera.

I picked up a silver model of the Olympus Stylus Verve μ-mini. And boy is it mini.

Just to give a sense of how much more portable this is than my SLR camera bag, here’s a shot of the Verve next to my Canon 70-200/2.8L IS lens.

The camera is definitely targeted at consumers, and even has on-board effects. Here’s a shot, unaltered out of the camera, with a few copies made (in camera) with the on-board effects. Yoy can click on any of them to enlarge to the full camera original.

Raw Image

Sepia Tone

Fish Eye Effect

Black & White

Soft Focus

Overall, it’s a cute little camera so far. Fits my needs to be able to toss it around in my pocket so I have a camera at the ready all the time. The one weird thing to get used to is not having a viewfinder. The only way to frame your picture is with the LCD screen. I hope that this will actually help me be a better photographer by forcing me to think about the world through a 2-dimensional lens. We’ll see…