:: My Divided Soul ::

I have posted pictures from my trip to Hershey, PA. I ran the 25th annual Aboul-Hosn family reunion this year. The best part was getting to spend time with my parents and sister. I didn’t post pictures from the reunion itself here, as those will be on the Aboul-Hosn family web site.

I finally did it. I finally got a new digital camera. I have been wanting a digital SLR camera for two years. Now that I make a decent salary for the summer, I could actually justify purchasing it. Two weeks ago, my Canon 30D, Canon 24-105 f4 L IS lens, and Canon 28mm f1.8 lens arrived.

How can I describe this camera and the lenses I got in one word? WOW! I knew the change from a G3 was going to be big, but I didn’t realize it was going to be this big. Here are some observations I’ve made:

1. The auto focus is extremely fast. When I was using my G3, the main cue for me that the camera had finished focusing was when it stopped making noise. The first few shots with the 30D and my 24-105mm lens, I was waiting for the same cue. I waited five or more seconds. Then I realized the problem: the camera had focused so quickly that I didn’t even realize it had finished! It used to be that the camera was the limiting factor in how fast I could take pictures. Now the limit is me. That is going to take some getting used to.
2. Focus in low light is actually possible. My G3 would hunt like mad in low light and I would be lucky to be able to auto focus at all. With a 28mm f/1.8 lens, it is no problem.
3. I don’t miss live LCD preview. The optical viewfinder seems to offer many advantages, including the ability to gauge DOF and focus more accurately than on a screen.
4. The camera is heavy. I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way, either. In fact, it feels good to hold it in my hands as I walk. Around the neck for any length of time is a little difficult, though.
5. DOF is quite a bit shallower at a given f-stop than it is on a G3. I knew this was going to happen and I have to say I find it useful. It opens up a wealth of artistic possibilities.
6. The pictures just look sharper, clearer, and more detailed. My G3 certainly produced some nice pictures and I thank it for its many years of service. However, the 30D and the 24-105mm make for a killer combination. Seeing pictures from many of you on this forum was what made me think I could get better quality photos with a dSLR in the first place and the camera has not disappointed.
7. Image stabilization is an awesome technology. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, image stabilization (IS) detects camera shake and shifts the lenses to compensate. Handheld shots at 1/5s? Not a problem. Not only does this help with low-light photograph of stationary objects, but I think it will open up some creative opportunities when photographing moving targets.

Overall, I do not regret the move to the 30D one bit. My G3 was and still is a nice camera that prepared me well for the move to better equipment. I feel somewhat overwhelmed with the new choices I have, but I see it as a challenge that I’m eager to take on. If you want to see some photos taken with my new camera, check out some shots around Palo Alto and my trip to San Francisco with Ganesh.

The other thing I have discovered is post-processing photos shot in the RAW format. Basically, when taking a picture, the data stored on the card is taken directly from the CMOS sensor without and compression and in-camera processing. Then, one can adjust contrast, color balance, white balance, sharpness, and a bunch of other things on the computer later. I’ve been using Adobe Lightroom, which is currently in beta for Mac and soon for Windows.

There was a time when I thought such post-processing was cheating. I mean, isn’t changing such things being untrue to the picture as taken? However, I then realized the truth: the camera isn’t capable of capturing a scene exactly as it was. Post-processing allows one to change properties of the photo to bring it closer to the reality of the situation. Moreover, it has the potential to make photos more visually stunning.

As an example, consider this photo, taken in Palo Alto:

With a little adjustment of the exposure, contrast, and color balance, the picture can become this:

I’d say that is quite an improvement. Post-processing also allows one some creative freedom. One effect I’ve seen that I’ve always wanted to try was with flowers. Consider a typical flower picture like this one:

Move all of the colors to gray with the exception of magenta and one gets this:

You can see larger versions of the post-processed pictures in the photo gallery. Commenting is a lot easier in the gallery, so if you see something that strikes you, feel free to write something! Needless to say, I am extremely happy with my new toys and eager to explore their capabilities.

I picked up three new releases last week, all of which are excellent and highly recommended. The first one is Live’s new release Songs from Black Mountain. This album represents some of Live’s best work to date, and that is saying a lot given how amazing their albums consistently are. Some have been complaining that the band have become too much pop and not enough rock. However, I think they are maturing as band and writing some happy tunes, some of which echo back to the acoustic-drive Mental Jewelry days. While listening to them in my cubicle, I can’t help but sway back and forth to the music. Standout tracks include “The River,” “Show,” “Sofia,” and “Where Do We Go From Here?”.

The next album is Holly Brook’s debut album Like Blood Like Honey. This girl can write some very emotional songs. You have probably already heard her on the song “Where’d You Go” by Fort Minor. I was completely taken by her voice when I first heard that song and was eager to get her album when it came out. The album does not disappoint, offering songs with deep lyrics delivered by a hauntingly beautiful voice. Highlights include “Giving It Up For You,” “Curious,” and “Saturdays.”

The final album concerns me that my music tastes are becoming more accommodating of emo. I used to dislike emo immensely. I still do dislike crappy emo a great deal (which describes about 95% of it). However, my recent acquisition of The All-American Rejects album has now been complemented with AFI’s Decemberunderground. Hardcore AFI fans are up in arms that the band has sold out, mellowed, become too commercial, embraced too much goth and new wave, and generally lowered themselves to the level of other punk/pop/emo bands. Apparently, the band used to be a hardcore punk band or something like that. Before buying this album, I decided to check out some of the older stuff. I was not impressed. However, I could not get their new single, “Miss Murder,” out of my head for three days straight. Originally, I was just going to buy this single on iTunes, but then decided to give the rest of the album a listen. I went out and bought it immediately. Yes, this album does embrace new wave and has some emo tendencies, which scares me to some extent. I generally dislike 80s-new-wave-inspired music and emo, but this album captivates me. The album is a well produced work with very diverse influences. The songs range from emo to new wave to straight-up punk. (hmmm…is that really diversity?) In any event, I’d say AFI’s new album represents some of the best music in this genre. Favorite tracks of mine are “Kill Caustic,” “Summer Shudder,” “Love Like Winter,” and “37mm.”

So those are my music recommendations for you!