Yes We Can

Photograph © Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune-All Rights Reserved

"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can."
-Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States

And we did...and we shall...and the United States and the world rejoices.

My New G10: First Shot

Photograph © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
I bought a Canon G10 two days ago, and haven't had the time to really put it through its paces yet...however, I've formed a bunch of initial impressions from a couple of shots made in the streets of New York. I will follow up with further thoughts as I use it, and will post these on TTP. I suspect that many of my eventual thoughts, if not all, will mirror other comments made about the G10.

First and foremost, a no-brainer: this is not a DSLR...it's a point and shoot. This fact was reaffirmed to me when I walked over to the DSLR counter at B&H, and was directed by the guy to walk to the other side of the store...to the point & shoot department. So if you expect DSLR quality from the G10, think again. It may come close, but that's about it. Will it replace your DSLR? No. Will it be a back-up for your DSLR? Again, probably not...but that depends on what your definition of back-up is. For me, it won't be.

Secondly, the shutter lag is noticeable. In the above photograph taken while crossing an avenue in New York, you'll notice the tip of a vehicle in the bottom left corner of the frame. This appears because of the shutter lag...the vehicle wouldn't appear had I used a DSLR. I shot this frame at 25mm, f4.5, 1/200th, and an iso of 80.

The quality of the image and color rendition are fine, although still not as good as from a large-sensor DSLR....okay, since you got the message by now, let's drop the comparison to DSLRs since it's really comparing apples to oranges.

The size of the G10 is ideal for street photography (which is the reason I bought it in the first place), it's easily portable in a coat jacket and it's easy to use out of the box. I don't think the G10 will be great for active people photography for instance. I'm quite sure it wouldn't do well at the dance festivals in Bhutan...but it could be very useful in posed environmental portraits.

To be continued....

My Show Off: Gangtey Couple

Photograph © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Here's a photograph of an elderly farming couple at the Gangtey Goempa monastery, who were quite excited to attend the festival's rehearsals. It was rumored that the King of Bhutan would be attending the actual festival the following morning. The valley of Gangtey is one of the most beautiful in Bhutan, and the Gangtey Goempa monastery is the only Nyingmapa monastery on the western side of the country's Black mountains.

While I like this photograph for its humanity, I wish I had the presence of mind to move to the right of the couple to avoid having the wisp coming out of her head. In the heat of photographing, one frequently misses seeing extraneous background stuff. I don't think it spoils the photograph, but just one step to the side would've made it better.

In any event, I photographed the husband and wife for a few minutes and they were stiff as boards. However, once I relayed to them that they had to look at each other as if they were still both in their twenties, this is the result. It didn't take much to persuade them...the affection that these two Bhutanese farmers have for each other was immediately obvious.

For the techies: 50mm, f5.6, 1/250th, 100iso. Click to enlarge.