Here in Stockholm there are many interesting pieces of art in the underground metro lines. This autumn SL, the authority running the three metro lines here in Stockholm arranges a series of train rides with a guide to guide you through the art pieces.
This will happen roughly twice a week starting this thursday (day after tomorrow) but unfortunately I am busy thursday nights. The second night is on the coming Sunday however when I think it would be a great time to meet up and bring the cameras along.
Anyone interested in joining in on a project and learn more about the beautiful metro in Stocholm and perhaps get the chance to photograph the arts in the subway?
Yesterday visiting some friends I brought my lightstand and umbrella and snapped a few portraits. It is incredible what a difference a few simple things can do to improve a photograph. It is all about the light.
One SB-600 into silver brolly camera left 35-45 degrees off center and about head height looking slightly down.
Taken during a walk a couple of years ago in Näsby Park. The sky looked far more dramatic than the weather actually became but it turned out to be one of those photos I come back to and really like.
This article will start by assuming that you are very familiar with your camera and how to use it in manual mode. You need to understand apertures, shutter times, how to use the cameras histogram to understand over- and under exposure.
If you are not familiar with these topics, then it would be better if you familiarized yourself with them before. There are a number of articles you can find that will take you through this of course.
What is infrared light?
Infrared light is light that has a frequency that is lower than the visible light in the spectrum. We can also say that the wavelength is longer than the visible light. Infrared light have various properties that are different from visible light and it reflects and refracts different from visible light through the camera lens.
Here is a diagram that shows how the infrared spectrum relates to the visible light spectrum. In this article we will only be talking about photographing in the infrared spectrum that is close to visible light, between 1200-730 nm roughly. Infrared photography in this aspect is not to be confused with heat signature cameras and systems such as FLIR (example below) which are used for example to detect body heat. There is also the ”far infrared spectrum” said to have medicinal use and influence for example the production of vitamin D in the skin of humans and a few other species.
Radation in the thermal heat range and the far IR range does not really affect the result of IR photography as we have limited our reception range to the near visible light IR spectrum. The sensors in a digital camera is also not very sensitive in ranges under 1000 nm so it makes little sense trying.
This shows the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. Source: Wikipedia Commons.
Looking at the picture above we can see that the visible light spectrum ranges from around 730 nm to about 370 nm. Above we have X-ray and gamma rays, nasty stuff to us humans but below is the infrared portion of the band.
Thermal Image of a Dog. Source: Wikipedia Commons.
Here to the left is a picture taken with a different technology (FLIR) that captures the heat radiated from a body.
We can here see the lighter areas correspond to hotter parts of the animal. This is a technique that is quite often used for tecnhical purposes such as trying to find leaks in insulations and heat pipes and similar.
This is known as thermal imaging but is the area around 100 µm and photographic sensors for normal cameras don’t work well in this range. This is however what most people think about first when subjected to the term ”infrared photography” and it is important to distinguish between the two.
So the infrared spectrum we are interested in lies between the lowest portion of the visible light spectrum around 730 nm and down to perhaps something like 1200 nm. This light comes normally from very ”hot” sources, such as the sun, or a light bulb perhaps.
Those of you who are physiscists may remember the black body radiation formula and put it to use here :)
In this picture it is possible to see the difference between the visible light spectrum and the IR spectrum. The left hand picture is shot with infrared filter and the right hand side is a normal visible light picture that has been shot in B&W
So yesterday 50 people were enlisted for the photo-walk, I think more than 40 turned up at Högalidskyrkan and we started walking. It was a beautiful day, we had exeptional luck with the weather and it turned out to be a very nice event.
Lots of pictures was taken and due to an unfortunate accident I lost some good pictures on a memory card that decided to fail of course. But since I regularly swap cards in the camera this did not affect too many pictures and most of the really good ones I liked was saved!
Stockholm from the South lake Mälaren coast linePath in InfraredDetails of Church WallWindow and ReflectionThe Högalid Church in InfraredA Resting PlaceThe Dead Bike
In a variety of activities, including photography when you are not doing it alone, it makes sense to have good communications. We are pretty lucky here in Europe that there is a part of the frequency spectrum open to unlicenced use for anyone who can afford a €20 set of ”walkie-talkies” can access this. This means anyone can use these radios without any licencing or fees and it sure beats mobile phones when it comes to the cost of the calls.
Frequency table
The channel spacing is 12.5 kHz just like some other older PMR (Personal Mobile Radio) systems earlier. The modulation type is FM (F3J) and with the low power they have pretty good battery times as well, I can carry one unit for a full day without needing to recharge it.
Frequency
Channel #
Usage
446.00625
1
–
446.01875
2
–
446.03125
3
–
446.04375
4
–
446.05625
5
–
446.06875
6
Geocaching and Geohashing is using this frequency
446.08125
7
–
446.09375
8
–
Power Limits
The output power is limited to 500 mW ERP (Effective Radiated Power) and the antenna is only allowed to be the fixed built-in antenna that was tested with the device for compliance. This output power gives you a coverage radius of a few hundred meters in a cityscape and a few kilometers in a flat country side.
Several manufacturers are printing ”5 km coverage” and similar numbers on their boxes. You can also see the same manufacturer claiming 5 km, 6 km and even 8 km coverage on similar devices and although they charge much more for the 8 km version there is very little proof that it is actually better than the 5 km verstion. The reason for this is that the output power is fixed to be a maximum of 500 mW radiated.
The most variance you will find is on the receivers and not the transmitters really so there may be some differences depending on how sensitive the receiver is in your particular unit.
Squelch Coding
Many of these radios also employs a kind of squelch system called CTCSS (Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System) which is used when several users are using the same frequency. If you set your radio to the ”sub channel 5” using the CTCSS system then you will not hear people as they talk unless they transmit this code. The code is automatically transmitted when the push-to-talk button is engaged. This avoids random conversation disturbing you.
It does still not allow people to talk simultaneously on the same frequency and it is not a privacy function since any radio can turn off the feature and then hear all conversations that are carried on the frequency. Most radios can also be set to scan the whole frequency band and therefore find any ongoing conversation quite easily.
Looking forward to the photo walk here in stockholm, to meet up with other photographers is always fund and I hope I will be able to get some good shots as well but I really suck when it comes to street photography. I have such a hard time composing that I miss the moments that I want to capture and I need to practice this. So I have considered ”going light” this time with the stuff that I need mainly in my pockets and of course a tripod, camera and one lens.
Instead of focusing on using the proper prime lens for the job I will be lugging my 18-200mm lens that can do almost any kind of shot. Although this lens is a bit on the soft side and I prefer a harder sharpness in my photos it is still a really nice all-round lens that can do many situations instantly. It is also equipped with the VR function to reduce shakiness when hand-held and that should be a great help today.
Here are some street shots that I have done earlier which are not half-bad but I don’t feel confident I can actually ”make” the photos the way I really want them. So this will be a very interesting test for me.
"Rain and reflection" - Kingston Upon Hull, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
"Black Side - White Side", Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
"Nightfall over Stockholm" - Shot from the roof of the highest building in Stockholm, the old tax office.
"The Light Comes In" - There is a crack in everything, that's how the light comes in, Leonard Cohen. Shot in Gamla Stanm, Stockholm
The walk starts at hornstull at Högalidskyrkan (the church) and then we are off in smaller groups. The walk ends at Mosebacke. I will of course post pictures as they are developed after the walk. The weather looks nice still and I hope we get a really nice evening in town!
I am also considering trying out IR photography in this setting. It could be difficult of course but I think it could be interesting. But this means I have to lugh around my tripod – something that has never been a problem before but it is of course time consuming to set it up to shoot when everyone else snaps a picture and moves on but I think that it would be cool.
This is a really good synchronisation program that I use to sync my Google Calendars with my mobile phone. I am using a HTC Touch Dual phone right now, Windows Mobile 6 based device and it doubles as my PDA and emergency surf tool.
This synchronisation works with most modern phones and you can log on and check if your model is supported. Configuration is simple and works great so finally I can use google calendar seriously.
Never miss that photo event again! Sync, sync, sync!
