[Photography] How to Search Potential Cityscape Photography Spots Online Before Traveling

As an avid cityscape photography enthusiast (primarily shooting at the blue hour), I always spend quite a number of hours studying potential cityscape shooting spots before traveling to a new destination. Knowing everything from what to shoot, where to shoot from and how to get to those locations before departure will save you a ton of time and hassle, especially if your stay is rather short.

Thanks to my pre-departure study online, I was able to locate this vantage point along Lugard Road at Victoria Peak (Hong Kong) without any hassle.

Hong Kong skyline shot from Convention and Exhibition Centre. Another location that I successfully scouted online before traveling.

You can always start this location study with the obvious (Google!), but there are also other resources that help you find photography spots. Those are Flickr, 500px, stock photography websites, and photography forums to name but a few.

Personally, Flickr is my go-to resource, as there are more than 10 billion photos (according to their 2015 stats) and numerous groups dedicated to many big and small cities around the world. You can ask questions and possibly get answered by local photographers.

Finding what to shoot is a piece of cake. 10 minutes browsing Flickr gives you a number of potential locations. You may argue that those places are over-photographed or that you’re just copying what others have already photographed. But as a first-time visitor, I’m happy to start with the most popular locations because they are over-photographed for a reason.

With more than 10 billion photos available, Flickr is my go-to resource when searching potential cityscape photography spots.

Finding Out Where a Photo Was Shot

The next up is finding where to shoot from (i.e. The exact spot where the photo was shot) but this can be much harder. Sometimes the photo has a clue in itself, such as a name of the building (e.g. hotel name). Then, just get onto Google Maps and do a virtual walk around the area using Street View.

Let’s use Hong Kong, the city that never stops fascinating me with its amazing cityscapes, as a case study for this article. For the photo below, I shot from a footbridge on Connaught Road Central, finding the name of the building on the left (International Finance Centre) eventually led me to locate the exact shooting spot (see on Google Maps) after virtual-walking around a lot on Google Street View.

Shot from a footbridge on Connaught Road Central (Hong Kong).

Try Your Luck Asking Photographers Directly

On other occasions, this crucial piece of info (the shooting location where the photo was taken) can be found in the title or description of the photo. If not, check through the comments to see whether anyone has already asked this particular question.

What I’ve found interesting is that there are photographers who normally reply to comments but somehow don’t respond to this type of question asking where it was shot. It might be because they are not really happy to share that information with a complete stranger trying to shortcut their way to an epic shooting spot they discovered by themselves (possibly by walking around for hours).

That said, there is no harm in asking. The worst thing that could happen is that you receive no response.

Author’s note: If you ask me about cityscape shooting spots in Singapore (where I live), I won’t hold anything back. I’m happy to provide all the info you need!

Asking in Flickr Groups

In case you’re hesitant about asking the photographer directly, you can also try asking in a Flickr group. Once I found a nice Hong Kong street photo with a street name included in the description. So I got onto Google Street View and moved up and down the street, but couldn’t locate exactly where the photo was shot.

As I saw this particular photographer not responding to any comments at all, I went into a Hong Kong group within Flickr and asked whether anyone knows the exact location by including the street photo in my question. Then, a fellow photographer kindly responded with the answer, which led me to shoot the photo below (shot from a footbridge over Paterson Street Tram Station, see on Google Maps).

Hong Kong street view from Yee Wo Street.

Use Google Maps to Find Directions from Your Hotel

Lastly, let’s talk about how to get to those newly found amazing locations. Accessing directions have never been easier these days, thanks to Google Maps.

Prior to the trip, get onto Google Maps and find the directions starting from your hotel. To record the route, take a screenshot or copy the link from your browser’s address bar so that you will be able to revisit the page using hotel’s WiFi later.

This may not be commonly known, but Google Maps also lets you save a short URL of the directional map. Just go to “Menu”, then click “Share or embed map” and check “Short URL”. You can also save maps for offline use as well if you don’t want to incur roaming charges and can’t access any WiFi.

Saving a directional map using “Short URL” feature on Google Maps.

List Photography Spots in Order of Priority

Let’s say I’m traveling for a 5-day, 4-night stay. Then, I’ll make a list of four cityscape photography spots to shoot at dusk. Plus I’ll add one or two backup spots just in case any of the original choices are unexpectedly unavailable due to a special event taking place or something. I select only one spot per day, as I’m only interested in shooting cityscapes during evening blue hour and try to gather as much information as possible before traveling.

It’s also important to list them in order of priority so that you know which place to drop if you can’t shoot on the first evening due to heavy rain, for example. In fact, such a situation often happens, so you should establish a clear order of priority for your shot list in advance.

Consider Revisiting: You Learn Something New Every Time You Go Back

Up until this point, I’ve talked about the importance of pre-departure preparations such as knowing where to shoot from. However, it’s also true that a single visit may not be enough to let you go home with best possible photos unless you’re staying for weeks. If you’re only staying for 4-5 days like I typically do, you may get unlucky with the weather and not be able to capture any photos that you’re happy with.

If that’s the case, consider revisiting the destination! The great thing about revisiting the same place is that you learn something new every time you go back, such as discovering lesser-known photography spots, finding a faster way to move around, etc. Besides, you can try new restaurants and coffee shops alike, and after a few visits, you’ll be able to walk around the city like a local!

On my second visit to Hong Kong, I found this lookout point on Stubbs Road through a bus window on the way to Victoria Peak. So the next day I dedicated one evening to shoot at this spot. This is a good example of learning something new every time you go back.

I planned to go back to Lugard Road lookout point at Victoria Peak to shoot Hong Kong skyline again, then accidentally diverted from the road to find this spot behind Peak Tower, so changed my plan to shoot here, instead.

Conclusion

I hope this helps you with your pre-departure search on what to shoot, where to shoot from, and how to get to those locations. These tips are quite basic, but it’s almost a prerequisite in order not to waste your precious (but limited) time at the destination, especially for those of us traveling only for a few days.

If you have any other cityscape photography tips to share, please do so in the comments below.

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[Photography] How to Make and Photograph Rainbow Water Droplets on a CD

Do you enjoy doing a nice experiment, that gives you colorful photographs? In this article, you’ll discover how you can create a photo of rainbow water droplets using simple household objects and your imagination. The technique uses the principles of refraction and applies it in an easy to use way.

A nice experiment to do while it’s raining outside, create your own water drops and photograph them in an experimental way. So it’s time to setup your home laboratory, and photograph droplets on a CD!

You can make some captivating rainbow colors by using this technique.

What you need to photograph water droplets on a CD

As mentioned, you’ll need just some simple household items to carry out this photo of rainbow water droplets. You’ll also need some camera equipment as well!

• CD – This is what’s needed to create the rainbow effect, make sure the shiny surface is clean.
• Water dropper – Any simple dropper will do, you could use an eye dropper perhaps.
• A glass of water – You’ll need a supply of water handy.
• A flashlight – Any flashlight or headlamp will work for this technique.
• A camera – Your camera must be capable of doing long exposures.
• A macro lens – This works best with a macro lens or a camera with a built-in lens capable of close-up photography.
• A tripod – This is a long exposure technique, so you will need a tripod.
• External shutter release – In a pinch, you could use the camera’s self-timer, but an external shutter release will be better.

These are the items you’ll need for this technique.

The method

The following describes the simple method you’ll need to follow when creating this style of photo. The most important thing is you’ll need a dark room.

1. Place your CD on a flat surface, this can either be a tabletop or the floor.
2. Add water droplets to the surface of the CD using the dropper. Make sure they make a nice pattern.
3. Now put your camera on the tripod.
4. Position the camera and tripod so that the camera is looking straight down onto the CD.
5. Focus the camera using manual focus and live view. Keep the camera in manual focus so that you retain the focus position. If your camera is on autofocus, when you turn the light off and hit the shutter, you will lose the focus.
6. Your camera should be set to expose for around 20-30 seconds, the aperture will need to be around f/10-14. This aperture allows for both the long exposure and keeps the depth of field for the water droplets wide enough to ensure they’re all focused.
7. Now switch the light off. Ensure the room is as dark as possible, so avoid one where there might be light seeping in from outside.
8. Hit the shutter or trigger to begin the exposure.
9. Turn your flashlight on. Make sure the light does not shine up directly into the lens element, use a lens hood if you have one.
10. Keep the angle of the light roughly vertical and slightly down towards the surface.
11. Now circle the light source around the CD, and let the magic happen! Adjust the length of time you do this for depending on how bright you wish the photograph to be.
12. Repeat and adjust as necessary. You may wish to try different angles for the torch (flashlight), the higher the torch the more light you’ll see on the reflective surface of the water drop. Using different camera angles may also work well too.

The basic setup for this photo looks like this. It will of course be dark when you expose the image.

Other water droplet experiments

This is not the only way to photograph droplets, there are in fact a host of different methods out there. Here is a brief list you could also try out.

• Water droplet – Taken using water dripping into a tub, and captured using a strobe. This is a great technique to try out.
• Water droplets on glass – Use refraction to make amazing photos with water drops, and repeating patterns.
• Water droplets after the rain – This one you’ll need to go outside for. Photographing droplets on flowers or spiderwebs always looks nice.

There are lots of other ways you can photograph droplets. This is taken with droplets on glass.

Start creating your water droplet photos!

Photographing droplets is a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoy trying out this idea. Have you ever tried photographing droplets before? Did you use a CD to do it, or one of the other methods mentioned in this article.

As always I’d love to see your images in the comments section, together with any comments you may have.

Using closer framing, or different angles can change the look of the photo.

Changing the angle of the flashlight to a higher angle means you’ll catch the light reflection on the CD’s. Play with it until you get the look you like.

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[Photography] How All JPEG Images are Cobbled at Birth

Everybody knows that JPEG images are prone to compression artifacts. Meaning every time an image is opened (whether altered or not) and re-saved, the tonal structure of the photo is recompressed using the same destructive process. File recompression always causes additional detail to be lost. Every time a JPEG image is adjusted in any way, those original 256 levels of color are redistributed and detail is lost.

JPEG files offer various levels of file compression and repeated editing and saving causes further degradation.

But, that’s the least of the JPEG limitations.

First of all, JPEG is an old format originally designed for a long-past era. A group of photographic experts (Joint Photographic Experts Group) was assembled in 1986 for the single purpose of whittling down very large image file sizes:

1. To display on old CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) computer monitors – basically old TV sets without the channel tuners
2. To travel efficiently over the fledgling (slow) Internet, which was designed to accommodate the best broadcast television standards
3. In order to compress them for size and portability. The first JPEG specification was released in 1992 and ratified again in 1994.

Now over 25 years later, the same format is still in use!

The Price of the Program

Many elements of a digital image get altered with JPEG file compression. True, massive amounts of disk real estate get saved in the process but significant other parts of the image get thrown away.

First, the full RGB signal is converted to an abbreviated color space used for analog TV, called YCbCr. CRT displays are driven by red, green, and blue voltage signals, but storing RGB signals involves redundant data. While most of the luminance (brightness) information (Y channel) is retained, the two color channels (red and blue) are significantly reduced in scope.

Highlights clipped in the JPEG process are still present in the RAW file.

An original RGB camera image (TIFF, PSD) contains massive levels of color; many of which the human eye cannot distinguish. Since the end goal of JPEG is zero-body-fat, once a base interpretation of the image is defined, and the 256 colors identified, almost all the “extra” colors are removed, leaving a mere skeleton of the color range.

Colors are characterized as bit depth; the number of tiny measured steps between full color and no color. Humans can only perceive 200 levels of each color under ideal lighting.

The Problem

The decision on what colors get eliminated is pre-designated by a cookie cutter JPEG template, rather than by the human evaluation of each image’s tonal structure. JPEG restricts the color for all images indiscriminately. One template fits all. Excess information is discarded.

Basically, JPEG compression is like weight loss by body part elimination rather than fat reduction; more of an amputation than a diet. As I’ll explain later, the production of a JPEG file is the ideal final format, but not the most ideal for image editing.

JPEG makes use of a basic human sight limitation. We can see tonality more than we identify individual colors. This is why we see only shapes in low lighting conditions. Basic luminosity is retained with JPEGs but much of the color is down-sampled.

The next multistage high-math transformations in this process get mind-boggling very quickly, so let’s just say that some very intricate 8×8 pixel matrix calculations take place based on the limitations of visual perception. True optical illusionary voodoo is at work to further reduce the “weight” of each image. The vulnerability in this mass weight loss program is that JPEG colors are weakest in the highlights and can display nasty artifacts when the images are re-saved. All those compression calculations take place again when JPEG images are re-saved.

The basis of JPEG compression involves a complicated formulation involving blocks of 8 pixels. The values of each block are quantized and distilled into similar colors to eliminate color variations that the human eye has trouble distinguishing.

JPEG files typically reduce the size 90% from the original PSD or TIFF file with little perceptible loss in image quality, as long as the file remains unchanged in size and content. Images that contain significant areas of similar tones (skies, building surfaces, etc.) benefit most from this file compression format.

Quantization

This JPEG standard is not an image resolution issue as must as it is a color depth issue. The number of pixels is not reduced, but the number of colors is. The “pixelated” appearance is not caused by a reduced number of pixels, but a reduction of the color quality of those pixels. The visible loss comes from changes to the initial 8×8 pixel matrix when the edited file is re-saved.

In 1992 it was unthinkable to produce images at a higher quality than TVs could broadcast, including the 256-tone limitation and the sRGB color gamut. In 1992, this was state-of-the-art stuff and it served the industry well for many years.

14-bit sensors can capture 16,000 levels of color in each RGB channel.

But then Silicon Valley developed camera image sensors and processors that could handle more than 8-bit images. That meant that digital manufacturers began building cameras whose images contained twice the level of color (10-bits, or 1000 levels of color).

Next, “deep-bit” images were accommodated by Adobe within Photoshop which changed everything. Much larger color spaces were developed to support this newly expanded color depth. (Keep in mind that bit depth is simply a way of dividing an image’s range into much smaller steps between zero color and full color of a pixel).

Deep (Color) Space

My friend Bruce Fraser (the father of color management) worked with Adobe to formulate what we know as Adobe RGB. Later a larger color space was developed called ColorMatch RGB. Even later, an even larger color space was developed and was labeled ProPhoto RGB. All three of these color spaces exceed the 256-level limitation of JPEG.

But even if an image is edited in one of these larger color spaces, when it is saved as a JPEG, it is automatically reduced to 8-bits (256-levels) per channel.

Bit depth is the measure of tones between full color and no color. JPEG images affect the image bit depth, not the image resolution, as commonly believed. Each time a JPEG file is re-saved, the color loss increases and the image clarity decreases.

Camera JPEGs

Camera-saved JPEG files are “shaped” by the camera settings in place when the image is captured. The algorithm applied to the image data harvested by the image sensor reflects the color model (sRGB, Adobe RGB, and ProPhoto RGB), sharpening preferences, etc.

A word about compression. Compression is probably not as accurate a term to describe JPEG limitations as it could be. Compression sounds like what your Aunt Martha does when she uses a girdle to compress herself into a smaller “container,” but that’s a totally different thing. When she is decompressed, all of Aunt Martha is still there.

JPEG uses “lossy” compression, which really means that some parts were discarded (or lopped off) for good. Aunt Martha only wishes her girdle would help her permanently “lose” something.

Think of image compression more like an abbreviation. When a JPEG file is saved to disk, the data captured by the camera’s image sensor gets compressed into a general mold, dictated by the color settings in the camera when the picture is taken.

Photo Finished

This JPEG process effectively plays the premature role of photofinisher, stamping out its own interpretation of the scene. What started out as a 4000-16,000 level per color image gets reduced to a 256-level picture with just a skeleton of color, leaving precious little room for tone (or color) adjustments.

Both dark and light tones were clipped by the JPEG template but recovered from the RAW file.

JPEG limitations of 256 levels often clip brighter tones to white and darker tones to black prematurely (top grayscale above). RAW images allow the user to recover details that appear lost (bottom grayscale).

If the camera settings were not perfectly set to capture the brightness (bit depth) and contrast (tonal range) of the existing scene, the JPEG-rendered the photo leaves little room for recovery.

In the end, every image will be reduced to a 256-level file before it is either shared publicly or produced as a print. That’s just the nature of photography. There are very few printing devices that can reproduce more than 256 levels of color, and even if they could, the human eye couldn’t see those extra colors anyhow.

While digital cameras can capture up to trillions of colors, human eyesight recognizes less than 200 individual red, green, and blue colors.

JPEG Sufficiency?

So if we can’t see more than 200 different levels of each color (and JPEG provides 256, why do we need the billions captured as RAW files? Simple answer… those excess levels provide ample elbow room to push color levels and saturation into the most visually ideal 256 tones for printers to print and humans to observe. It’s all about optimizing detail.

The dynamic range of the beach scene exceeded the JPEG “template” and highlight detail appeared to be lost (left) but was retained in the RAW file (right).

Conclusion

So what can we take away from this?

First, JPEG is the most basic of photo file formats and is only ideal (as a camera file) when ALL the pre-capture lighting factors match the current camera settings. Second, it’s always best to set your camera to record both hi-level JPEG and RAW files as an insurance policy. And third, the unabridged image data saved as a RAW file enables the final JPEG to be shaped (as close as possible) to what your mind perceived when you clicked the shutter button.

JPEG is the digital file format you want to end up with but it is not always the one you want to start with. There is a waste factor involved in every manufacturing process, and digital imaging is no exception. It’s better to have too much than too little. Always start with more than you need.

Intend to lose the weight, but do it on your schedule.

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[Photography] Review: Peak Design Anchor Links System for Camera Straps

I’ve had all sorts of camera straps and carrying implements over the years. From traditional neck straps that come with most cameras to sling-style attachments to simple wrist straps and even, on occasion, daring to go out into the world with no camera strap at all.

My main issue with most camera straps is that while a lot of them are designed for specific situations such as portraits, sports, travel, or hanging out with friends I haven’t yet found one that works for every occasion. That’s where the Peak Design Anchor Links system comes into the picture and solves this problem once and for all.

Mostly.

The issue with camera straps

Choosing a camera strap feels more like a marriage than a dating relationship. Most aren’t easy to attach and remove without twisting some screws, threading some nylon through impossibly small holes, or making your fingernails bleed while wrestling with a key ring-style securement device.

As a result, when I buy a camera strap it usually stays on my camera permanently but often gets in the way when I want to take pictures in a scenario that the strap just wasn’t meant for.

Peak Design Anchor Links System – the solution?

The Peak Design Anchor Links system helps remedy this issue but in a bit of an odd way. Anchor Links don’t really do much on their own, and they’re not even camera straps at all.

What they are is a way for you to add a huge degree of flexibility to whatever you are currently using to help carry your cameras. They give you a great deal of choice and freedom when it comes to picking a strap that’s right for any given occasion.

Sometimes I like to use wrist straps, and sometimes I prefer larger over-the-shoulder straps.

How it works

Using Peak’s Anchor Links is pretty simple and involves two basic parts: the strap loop and the connector. The strap loops are small red and black circular tabs with about an inch of cord sticking out. These are what you attach to things you want to carry. The most obvious items are cameras but you can use them on virtually anything that needs to be carted around from pouches to lens cases to accessory bags and more.

The anchors are small connectors that attach to your camera strap, wrist strap, shoulder handle, or anything that you use to actually carry around your gear. There is no special magic to these anchors. You just thread your existing camera strap through the slot on one end of an Anchor just like you would thread a strap through the attachment point on your camera.

It takes just about a minute to get up and running with the Anchor Link system and if you’re like me, you’ll soon wonder what you did without them.

It took less than 9 seconds for me to switch from a wrist strap to a neck strap thanks to the Peak Design Anchor Link system.

So what’s the big deal?

When I first got the Anchor Link system I didn’t really see what the big deal was. How could a set of anchors and connectors really help me with my photography?

What I realized over months of using this system, is that simply having the ability to attach and detach camera straps at a moment’s notice has freed me to focus on other things that really matter. These won’t help you get better photos, and won’t teach you about composition and lighting. But you might find yourself bringing your camera more places than usual simply because you have so much more flexibility with how you carry it.

When I’m out with my family I can clip a traditional neck strap on in about three seconds flat. If I need to go handheld I can attach a wrist strap in no time. Then when I want to move a strap from one camera to another, it’s done in mere moments.

On a recent maternity session, I was able to pack my cameras and lenses securely and put all my various straps in a separate bag. Way better than trying to wrestle everything into a single container while dealing with unwieldy lengths of padded nylon.

Anchor Links can be attached to other items such as bags and pouches, or even key rings.

In the field

In terms of durability, I have had no issues whatsoever with the Anchor Link system and have trusted some very heavy camera/lens combinations to these tiny little cords without any problems. Peak Design claims each anchor link can support over 200lbs and while I don’t know if I would go that far personally, it is nice to know they’re rated for far more than my camera gear actually weighs.

It seems weird to trust a $20 attachment to hold a $4000 camera/lens combination, but it’s fair to say that the weakest link in the system would probably be whatever strap you are using and not these anchors.

Drawbacks

There are a few drawbacks to the system, namely that the more you use them the more you end up with button-sized anchor disks hanging from your camera gear. Also for some wrist straps, the attachment that secures to the anchor disk can seem a bit large. But I use the system daily with a wrist strap on my Fuji X100F and it has never been a major issue.

These are minor quibbles though, are almost not worth mentioning for something that is so immensely practical.

The strap loops are small and don’t really get in the way, and Peak Design claims they are made out of a durable plastic that won’t scratch your cameras when hanging loose.

Conclusion

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that Peak Design has recently re-designed the system to be thinner and easier to use. I currently use the older system and they have never felt clunky or unwieldy, so I would imagine the revised version is just as good and probably even better.

Overall it’s hard not to recommend the Anchor Links to just about any photographer whether casual, professional or anywhere in between. A basic set with four anchor links and two attachments costs about $25 and can give you a huge amount of flexibility and freedom no matter what type of photography you do.

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