Mokka mit Schlag » Photography

For some time, I’ve been trying different techniques for extracting animals from photos and isolating them on white backgrounds. (Note that these are wild animals. These are not studio shots, and backgrounds and lighting are what they are. White boxes and umbrellas are not an option. This is not product photography. Photoshop works, sometimes, but it’s tedious. Topaz Remask also works, and can usually get the job done; but is extremely time-consuming: an hour or more per photo. OnOne PerfectMask is buggy and crashed on me, losing my work. Today I discovered Vertus’s FluidMask, downloaded the demo, and fired it up. Capsule summary:

Promising, but not yet good enough to replace the more complicated tools.
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Assume ideal conditions:

• Stable Tripod
• Off-camera shutter release
• Excellent focus
• Non-moving target
• ISO 100
• Excellent lighting
• Still air
• Aperture below the camera’s diffraction limit

Is any lens /camera combination going to be able to resolve details that are a pixel’s width apart? If not, how close do the best one’s get?

Of course different cameras have different pixel sizes. Larger cameras usually have larger pixels. So perhaps the answer should be measured in microns. How many microns can the best lenses resolve?

The problem with photographing insects in New York is that I get maybe 4 good months, and then it’s back to birds for 8 months. By the time insect season rolls around again, I’ve forgotten what I figured out last time. So once and for all, let me write this down.

FYI, these settings are all for relatively stationary insects and a 1:1 100mm macro lens. Butterflies and dragonflies (i.e. large flying insects) with a telephoto lens are something else entirely.

Daytime, no flash

• f/8, maybe f/11 for deeper insects
• shutter speed 1/400 s or faster
• ISO 400-1600 as necessary to get the shutter speed up.
• Check your histogram

Consider using a tripod, cable release, and/or reflector.

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I’m trying to come up with a system for rating my photographs in Lightroom. How’s this sound?

5 Stars: Submit to BBC Nature Photographer of the Year, Audubon Magazine Photography Awards, and other contests
4 Stars: Consider making wall prints and framing, using in a calendar, putting in a photo book, submitting to nature magazines, etc.
3 Stars: Submit for Microstock
2 Stars: Upload to Picasa
1 Star: Personal interest; documentation photo. E.g. a personal life bird even with a crappy photo.
0 Stars: Keep
X: Delete
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Looking around my apartment, I notice a significant number of Canon lenses and cameras I’m not using any more. If you’re interested in any of this (especially if you’re in Brooklyn or Manhattan) drop me an e-mail:

• Canon 400 mm f/5.6L lens: $1100
• Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 SP Di VC USD XLD for Canon Digital SLR Cameras, barely used, $350
• Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Ultra Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras: $275
• Canon 18-55 IS II, broken autofocus: $50 or best offer
• Canon Extender 2X II: $250
• Canon Powershot SX30IS, barely used: $350
• Canon Powershot A650IS: $175

Most have original boxes, manuals, chargers, batteries, lenscaps, etc.

The Tamron 70-300mm and the Powershot SX30IS are still under warranty. The rest aren’t. Shipping is not included.

I will also consider trades for Canon DSLRs and pro-grade lenses.

I’d been hearing good things about the relatively new Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens. In particular with a 2X teleconverter a lot of folks seem to think it outperforms the Canon 100-400 zoom as a handheld bird lens, so this weekend I rented one, hooked it up to my 50D, and took it for a stroll in the park. In no particular order here are my first impressions:
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