Buca di Beppo with the Canon 7D from Ted Chen on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago, I declared video to be the next big thing, and every photojournalist/photographer would need to add the new dimension of motion to their repertoire. Then I took the big (money) step to purchase one of the latest hybrid DSLRs, which can capture both quality images and full-HD video.

And yesterday, I brought that Canon 7D on a lunch trip to Buca di Beppo. The Italian restaurant is famous for its family-style portions and vintage decor. While I have also been building my audio equipment list, this set up was still short of ‘professional.’ I had no rig, everything was hand-held and manually adjusted. For sound I had the Zoom H2 recorder, which I’ve had personal experience using while I was at Columbia’s journalism school.

Shooting video is tough. Extremely. You have to predict motion more so than photography, and visualize how every small clip is going to be put together in the end. Then there’s audio. In this video I cheated a little by having background music, despite recording all the ambient sound within the 7D. Sure I could have used the Zoom to record audio, but only for ambient sounds. You’d have to put the Zoom really close to whoever’s speaking to get a good signal. Plus, I was also in the middle of eating the sumptuous food at Buca di Beppo!

As far as video shooting went, I shot everything from the same spot, choosing carefully what I wanted to capture and using selective focus. Keeping the camera steady while filming was a little bit challenging. What I’m really pleased is how the 7D performed at ISO 3200. The video is still cleaner than many other camcorders out there. It won’t beat the 5D2, but I am sufficiently pleased. Besides I really need the better auto-focus and frame rate of the 7D. Once I had the source video and audio files, I put them all together in Final Cut, adjusting the color balance and a little bit of the gamma.

From here, I hope to produce more videos, while slowing expanding the video rig I have. There are way better options for audio out there (like switching to XLR inputs), but right now the Zoom works well enough for me. Also, I need to try and get everything right in-camera while shooting. It’s much easier than tweaking the settings (such as white balance) in post-production.

That’s it from me! Check back on the website often to see if I have new videos up!

Taking video with the Canon 7D at the Italian Restaurant Buca di Beppo

Taking a group shot is like going on stage to do a solo act in front of a packed auditorium. Everyone’s eyes are on you, expecting you to deliver. Fail, and they will remember you even more.

But they’re also dynamic, as each one will contribute their own poses, and it’s nice to see (later in the day) how people can be so different and yet go together so well. Today I covered a group of YMCA kids who baked cupcakes for those at Ann Arbor’s Ronald McDonald House. This group shot was virtually the last snap of the day, when all the trays were scrubbed and the tables wiped clean.

Now this shot isn’t bad, but it’s not perfect. The fundamentals are there thankfully. I ensured there was enough depth of field by closing the aperture to f7.1. Doing so, I had to boost the flash power. It’s important to get some catchlight in the eyes, which I did successfully for most of them, but less on camera right. Doesn’t matter what type, but it’s important to use a diffuser for your flash.

If I could change some things about the photo, I probably should have asked for them to stand in an arc around the cupcakes. There was too much rigidity, almost like taking a high school class photo. But it’s also important not to get people too close to the corners as wide-angle lenses (and I did use one) tend to distort the edges. Bear that in mind when you’re taking group shots.

Overall, I’m happy with the shot.

Backstory: I got accepted to be photographer for Access, a magazine published by the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living, which caters to the welfare, education and awareness of people with disabilities. It’s only a temporary position, but it gives me free reign to shoot various styles, from events to studio shots, and the point of this post — sports.

Sports photography has always been for the royalty. The most expensive telephoto primes and fast-acquiring, quick-shooting bodies are required. To get all that gear means you are backed by wealthy employers, limitless endowments or high-paying gigs in the Annie Leibovitz range. I don’t belong to any of these categories.

To shoot this water sporting event, customized for disabled individual, I had to do a little customization myself. I had never shot water skiing before, much less this modified version. Not that it’s much different; a boat pulls someone on a surf/ski board via a rope. It sounds straightforward, but there were unimaginable difficulties that didn’t surface till I put my eye to the viewfinder.

Firstly the speedboat rocked like a raging bull. Looking through a long zoom lens only made the vibrations worse. To round off the disaster, the skiier being towed was also bouncing violently on the waves. It was almost a “spray & pray” scenario, though I tried to refrain from that. But looking back at the images I got, I was somewhat disappointed with slight motion blur (or is it soft focus?) on some of the skiing shots. I had though 1/2000 or 1/2500 sec would be fast enough but apparently not.

If it’s not motion blur, then either my camera or len’s autofocus was out of whack. My telephoto lens had never let me down before and there was no reason to suspect the camera either. So I’m guessing user error on my part, failing to focus accurately on the person instead of the seawater that was splashing all over (especially at the front of the person). The next time I shoot this sport, I’ll make sure to have at least a 1/4000 shutter speed with perhaps more depth of field to make sure everything is sharp and crisp.

See selected photos from the day’s shooting:

For years I had heard about the legendary standing of July 4th fireworks across the U.S. Four years I had been studying in the country but by July I had also found myself back in Singapore. This year was my first Independence Day celebration in the U.S.

A few friends recommended heading to Bay City, MI for their annual carnival+fireworks celebration. A week ago the Freedom Weekend fireworks at Detroit had captivated me with its spectacular light show. Here was a chance for more, so why not.

Bear in mind that this was only the second time I’ve shot fireworks seriously. Basic setup was necessary: SLR with cable release, and a tripod. Doesn’t need to be the heaviest and the most expensive — mine’s a cheap $20 one.

Everything else I learned from reading and experimenting. I needed a really long shutter to capture the light trails, so in order to do that, aperture and ISO must be stopped down. Depending on how long you want to keep the shutter open, these do not have to be set to their lowest values. Personally I try to go for at least 5 seconds.

Here’s are the days photos, and please leave comments or questions!