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| Reptile Garden by Ken R. Sheide |
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| Reptile Garden by Ken R. Sheide |
MAIN PHOTOGRAPHY PAGE:
What got me interested in photography? Well, back in 1998, the cheap $30 Sears point and shoot camera I had been using for years broke and I decided I would buy myself a nice camera for a change. I went into a camera store knowing absolutely nothing about photography (no idea how aperture or shutter speed or even film speed affected an image's appearance and exposure) and walked out with a Canon EOS Rebel G kit with 35-80mm lens. I read through the manual, bought magazines, and browsed the Internet trying to learn as much as I could about the camera and how to use it better. I soon found that the camera body and 35-80mm zoom lens alone weren't sufficient for all the photographs that I wanted to shoot (like macro and telephoto), however, so I bought a few new lenses, a cheap tripod, and some filters and started playing with them. What had started out as an effort of mine to learn to use the camera as best as possible ended up becoming an expensive and addicting hobby! Since then I have continued to grow not only in knowledge but also in my desire to produce amazing photographs. Mastery of photography is a never ending pursuit and I believe that is part of what has maintained my interest. Why do I focus on nature photography? I think I enjoy shooting nature most for various reasons. First, it is great exercise since I have to do a lot of hiking and climbing while carrying around heavy equipment in order to arrive at the locations I want to photograph. Second, it gets me outside and away from working on computers which is how I earn my living. Third, throughout my life I have developed a pessimistic view of humanity as far as our relation to nature. I want to get out, experience, document, and enjoy nature as much as possible now because I can easily foresee the day when many of the subjects I photograph will no longer be around. Our population is constantly growing and, with it, our mismanagement of natural resources and the other inhabitants of the planet. I want to enjoy all of nature while the opportunity still exists. To create my photographs I use the Canon EOS system. I've designed a web page listing all EOS bodies and lenses along with pertinent specifications and dates. It's a continual work in progress as Canon brings out new equipment and discontinues old equipment (still included in the web page). Check it out for a great quick reference and comparison guide to EOS camera bodies and lenses. Need a calendar for the current month? Get one for free featuring one of my photographs. And, yes, it has been designed to be printed out! FILM SCANNING: Initially, in the late 1990s, I was using a Microtek V600 flatbed scanner to bring my photographs into the computer. I would get prints made of my negative film and scan those prints. (As a side note, if you are considering a Microtek scanner, I encourage you to read about my horrible Microtek experience.) But I wanted better quality so, in 1999, I bought a Nikon LS-30 (Coolscan III) dedicated negative/slide scanner. I used that scanner regularly until 2003 when I started shooting digital. I still used it after that, but not nearly as much. In 2006, I finally upgraded to a Nikon LS-50 (Coolscan V) which had come out as a new model in 2003. Why did I upgrade? Well, the newer scanner had a greater Dots-Per-Inch (DPI) reading; going from the 2700DPI of the LS-30 to 4000DPI on the LS-50. Additionally, and most importantly, it had increased density range which is the ability to read shadow and highlight detail at the same time. Yet another new feature on the LS-50 was the Digital ICE4 (the LS-30 had only the original Digital ICE). What are the features provided by Applied Science Fiction that are now present in Nikon scanners? First, Digital ICE (Image Correction and Enhancement) which removes dust, scratches, and fingerprints from originals. Next, Digital ROC (Reconstruction Of Color) which restores faded colors. Note that I've never used the Digital ROC with my scanner because I am not scanning old, faded slides/negatives. Third, Digital GEM (Grain Equalization and Management) which helps to reduce grain. The new feature present in the 2003 Nikon scanners is Digital DEE (Dynamic Exposure Extender) which pulls more detail from shadows and highlights. Next to the added resolution and density range over the LS-30, the Digital DEE is my favorite new feature and enables me to produce digital files with detail in both the highlights and shadows from slides that have a lot of contrast and a large exposure latitude throughout the frame. It's actually fun to put in a slide and play around with the Digital DEE settings to see what sort of detail you can get out of the shadow areas! Probably the best argument for the quality of the LS-50 is that I am now in the process of going through all my slides and re-scanning them; the results are just that much better than what I obtained with the LS-30.
After a few years of use my Nikon LS-30 scanner started to produce blurry scans. I didn't realize this at first because it happened gradually but a friend of mine pointed out that some of my pictures looked blurry on the web. A year after that I was certain that the scanner was at fault when I noticed a persistent halo-like effect around highlights in all my scans that was not present in the original slides. I was pretty sure that the culprit was dirt or residue on a lens inside the scanner and found out that I was correct by searching the web and finding this site. In addition to explaining the problem, the site includes a link to some overly simplified directions on how to take an LS-2000 scanner apart and clean it. At first I looked into having Nikon clean my scanner but the fee they were charging was half of what a new scanner cost and certainly more than a used LS-30 would cost! I figured my LS-30 was similar enough to the LS-2000 that I could probably use the directions on the web to take apart and clean it as well. So, I followed those directions and after about two hours of work, discovering and filling in missing information from those directions, and quite a few screws and parts laid out on my table I had my scanner apart.
If you also have this problem and are considering doing this my advice is to be very careful, patient, and methodical in disassembly to ensure you can easily put things back in the order you removed them and in the place you removed them from! Also, some tiny black screws (3 total) gave me a hell of a time so you'll need a small screwdriver and some means to put a decent amount of torque on them to get these screws loose (I used a vice-grips to grab the screwdrivers and turn them). The ribbon cable that attaches to the circuit board doesn't have a connector at its end and is instead clamped down to the circuit board with a piece of plastic which pushes the ribbon cable's contacts into the connector on the circuit board. Be extremely careful with this cable and connector because it is a delicate piece and requires a lot of patience to take apart and put back together. Trust me on this comment. After I upgraded to the LS-50 I tried cleaning the LS-30 again to get it ready to sell and actually tore the ribbon cable while taking the scanner apart! Fortunately, the person who bought it from me was able to solder the contacts on the ribbon cable back together. But the point is that this is an extremely delicate part! Finally, if you are considering doing this repair don't cry to me if things go wrong because I take no responsibility for anything you do with your scanner. You will certainly void any warranty it might have by attempting this yourself. But if you are very patient and organized and have some time it can save you a decent amount of money like it did for me. What did I learn from the whole process? That, instead of leaving my scanner open all the time, I need to remove the slide adapter and close the scanner's front lid when it is not in use to prevent dust from getting inside. Some good advice available on the site listed above which I will also now follow is to maintain the scanner on its side instead of vertically on the edge. This keeps the internal mirrors in a vertical orientation and should also help to prevent dust from settling on them. FILM: I started out using Kodak Gold (GA/ISO 100) print film but then switched to Fuji Velvia (RVP/ISO 50) slide film because, at the time, it had the finest grain of any film out there and incredible colors. In January of 2001 I switched to Fuji Provia 100F (RDP-3/ISO 100) because it is even finer grained while at the same time one stop faster. Later, since I still preferred the color palette of Velvia, I decided to use both Velvia 50and Provia 100F but did most of my shooting with Provia 100F. I just used more filters to compensate for the color difference between it and Velvia. In 2003 Fuji released an ISO 100 speed version of Velvia (called Velvia F) and I will switch to it as my only film once Velvia 50 is no longer available. Now, in October 2006, I find that I shoot 95% digital anyway and only carry my EOS 3 film body for wide-angle shooting, for bad weather shooting (it is better sealed), as a backup to my digital body, and for those circumstances when I come across a great subject that will allow me to shoot it both digitally and analog (film). PHOTOGRAPHY TERMS: USM: UltraSonic Motor. Canon's autofocus motor that uses high frequency sound to move a lens' focusing element. These motors are fast and quiet. The ring type of this motor allows you to manually adjust focus while leaving the lens in autofocus mode without causing any damage to the lens (known as FTM).
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