Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,000 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

What’s common to many, is that i never quit shooting. Photographing aircrafts and aerial display are a must. Below are some of the photos i have taken during the visit last Sunday. Do enjoy!

EOS 550D ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/500 sec

The legs of spectators on the elevated seats anticipating for the aerial display that was about to begin.

EOS 550D ISO 100, f/5, 1/1250 sec

This is a very lucky shot, seen with the C-130 positioned in between the legs of the red lion jumpers during their parachute descend.

EOS 550D ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/12500 sec

Kids looking upon the fighter jets that soared across the sky in amusement. Sometime do look at the reactions around you instead of just focusing fully on the actions taking place. The result could, at times, be rewarding. =D

EOS 550D ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/500 sec

AS 332 Super Puma lowering down troops for a (fake) ground mission/combat.

EOS 550D ISO 200, f/8, 1/6400 sec

F-15 Soaring across the sky. This shot has proven and confirm me something. In order to get shots that are reasonably sharp and crisp out from budget lens like the 55-250 that i am using, set smaller aperture (without compromising the fast shutter speed of course!) and your lens optics can then perform a better job. Or else you might have to unsharp mask all your jet which is quite a chore to do so.

EOS 550D ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/250 sec

Troops disembarking from C-130 Hercules. This shot was deliberately set to monochrome to gather stronger emphasis on the ‘foggy’ air on the sides of the engines and to better distinguish the troops from the green patch of grass.

EOS 550D ISO 100, f/14, 1/80 sec

My panning shot, which is the best shot out of the series of frame bursting. While the F16 was lining up the runway, I quickly set my mode dial to Tv (Shutter Priority) and set the shutter speed of 1/80. Without the presence of the plane, i tried panning the background to check the result of the ‘blur-ness’. Once ready, it’s time for spamming when the F16 touches down while trying to keep the plane in line with the centre dot of the frame during the entire process.

Full Speed Ahead

EOS 550D ISO200, 1/25sec, f/20 85mm lens                                                   © Jian Hern

Mastering it is also very challenging and tricky. It requires you to have steady hands and precise syncronisation by moving the camera smoothly together with the subjects motion. On the technical aspect, the stabilisation mode of ur lens/body should be set to off (if not the lens will attempt to correct it undesirably. However some canon lenses have stabilisation modes that only take charge of only the vertical axis, which is of course ideal in this scenario.) Camera modes should be in Tv mode for easier shutter speed adjustments and the shutter speed value will have to be set appropriately; not too fast, not too slow. =D

Recently, through the talks and seminars by photojournalists and professionals, some photos of global events incorporated panning into their shots. Subjects like parachute touching down, F1 racings and people were show cased, and many were impressive. It didnt’ take me long to realise that maybe i have long abandoned the basic yet creative tool of this technique. Perhaps panning is still one of the favourite and impactful technique not to be missed.

Best of shows from all over Asia

Day 1, Istanbul
Day 2, Izmir
Day 3, Pamukkale
Day 4, Konya – Cappadocia
Day 5, Cappadocia
Day 6, Cappadocia – Istanbul
Day 7, Istanbul
Day 8, Istanbul
Day 1-8, BEST 40 PHOTOS

The 8-day Canon Photo Clinic to Turkey was a memorial journey for me. Located 11hours flight away from home, Turkey is a country rich in cultures and traditions, giving us great opportunities for photos that we will never see in our own country. Photography was not the only thing we learnt in this trip; there were many other takeaways that will always be in my heart. I truly cherished the moments that we all were together as it’s certainly not gonna be easy for us to come together as a group once more. Knowing the fact that we could be miles apart from one another reinforces my sentiments to be simply unforgettable.

There are altogether 6 countries participating in this Canon Photo Clinic— Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Indonesia. Two Best of Show winners from every country come together to experience the unforgettable journey to Turkey, therefore forming up a group of 19people— 12 participants, 2 instructors, 3 canon representative, 1 tour agent, 1 tour guide. As for me, I am the best of show winner in the Canon Photomarathon 2010 under student category. Another best of show from Singapore therefore comes from the Open category. To view winning works, pls click this link: http://icanshoot.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/canon-photomarathon-2010/

8 Days Adventure

Throughout the 8 days, we traveled to many destinations by land and air, exploring the beauty of the western part of Turkey. Hopefully the map looks clear in providing an overview of where i really went to.

As it would be too exhaustive to consolidate everything into one single entry, I will be subdividing it according to days. Clicking the link above will bring you to that specific day. If a link is unclickable, it means i am still busying writing. Try visiting again next time. =D Sincerely thank you for enjoying what i am sharing!

Endnote: Photos are strictly copyrighted. Not distribution or commercial use. Group photos taken by friends in this trip.