San Francisco's Asian Art Museum
Along with Saturday’s Japanese tea ceremony for Dawn’s birthday, we visited San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum and checked another item off our lengthy list of things to do or see. But it was so much larger than we’d anticipated that we failed to allow enough time to see it all. No worries, though, we’ll return another day. If you appreciate art and antiquities, the museum is definitely worth a visit. Just be sure to allow ample time to see all three floors! And be aware that, while photography is permitted on the 2nd and 3rd floors, flash is not!
Not knowing what to expect and not wanting to lug the heavy gear unnecessarily, I’d left my Nikon at home. So we relied on our little pocket Canon and Dawn’s iPhone, both handheld and without flash (not allowed!.) Still, we got some decent images which I’ve posted in an album. Feel free to browse. And let me know what you think of the new viewing module.
Doug
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Reader Comments (11)
These are terrific images. While some are not as tack sharp as others, they are all amazing for hand-held w/o flash! Very enjoyable album.
I like your new "slideshow" viewing but have you eliminated the descriptions for each image? That would have been a nice addition to this type of album where most viewers are not familiar with the subject matter. If it is not too late to add that back in, it would be a nice touch.
All in all an excellent album of excellent images! Still can't believe these are hand held from a Canon Elph.
Beautiful! These could be used in the gallery's exhibit brochure! I can't imagine what you could have done with your SLR!
Lorne
P.S. Can I use a couple of these?
Nice work! I always enjoy your photography!
We have a Canon Digital Elph, I think it is 7 megapix. Why don't we get photos like yours?
OMG, Doug, these are really good! Your photos are always a pleasure to view. Makes me try harder to improve my own.
Lorne: You have my permission to use any in this album PROVIDED (1) they aren't used for any commercial purpose, and (2) you properly attribute them as follows: " ©2007 Doug Arrington, all rights reserved." And (3) send me the link, source or a copy of where they are used.
Thanks for asking.
Doug
Frank: You can and it's easier than you think.
I keep the camera set to "Manual", ISO set at "100", the flash turned "off" and "digital zoom" turned off (it's crap on most small cameras so don't even go there.) There are other settings, but start with these.
When you're ready to compose a photo, assess which ISO would work best and set it. Generally, the lower the light and/or faster the action, the higher the ISO. (But don't use anything over 400 or your photo may be too grainy to use.) The ISO button is right on the back of the camera so it's easy to change quickly.
If it's dark, or if it's sunny but your subject's face is in shadow, set the flash to "On" (not "Auto" because the camera doesn't always recognize when flash will or won't be beneficial, such as when "fill flash" to lighten shadows on the face is needed.) And remember that the flash on pocket cameras seldom reaches more than 12 feet or so; try to get close to your subject. In lower light, use a little tripod if that's convenient (I have a 6" tripod), or brace the camera against a tree, bench, etc. to hold it as rock steady as possible, then slowly press the shutter release (In low light, the shutter will stay open longer to properly expose the shot, so don't move until you hear it close!)
Finally, get close to your subject rather than backing off and then "zooming" in. Your shots will be sharper. (There are exceptions to this rule but ignore them for now.)
And one more thing many pocket shooters forget. Always focus and meter your shots before shooting. This means pointing the little box in the center of the LCD over your subject's face (assuming "face detection" is off), then pressing the shutter release half way and holding it there, then recompose your picture (still holding the shutter release half way) and then, and only then, pressing the shutter release the rest of the way to take the photo. That way, the distance and exposure are metered for the most important part of the shot - the face.
Sorry, didn't mean to go on and on. Try these tips and see if you don't get better, sharper images. There are lots of "auto" settings in your camera but I generally leave them off.
Good luck! Let me know how you do.
Doug
Wopnderful photos as usual. You have a gift. You should become a professional.
I am unable to see the images. I get the thumbnails but just a dark ghreay screen when I click on one. Am I doing something wrong?
Jasper: Thanks for bringing this to my attention! I posted this album on my home system (Mac/Firefox) and it works fine with either Safari or Firefox on Macs and with PCs running Firefox.
But you are obviously on a PC using IE6 and there is apparently a problem with the new lightbox feature operating correctly on Windoze systems using IE6. It affects this album and all the others as well.
I've disabled the lightbox feature altogether, so things will work the "old" (and far less convenient) way until the issue is resolved. Again, thanks for letting me know!
Doug
We use Firefox on Windows platforms at work and at home without any problem. It's further validation of the reasons I dumped IE.
Stunning photographs!