Francis Vachon [photography] / [photographie]

New blog

Francis Vachon — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:16:37 -0400

This blog is over. I’m not done with bloging my life as a photojournalist. I’m just done with this one. Please adjust your bookmark and update you RSS feed. The new blog is over here.

James Nachtwey

Francis Vachon — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 16:08:49 -0400

Remember James Nachtwey? Here is his, giving a speech outlining his career, with some of is best - and graphic - images. Please watch.

Love the Treo!

Francis Vachon — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 14:01:39 -0400

Photojournalists need to be mobile. We have to file our pictures before the deadline, and sometime that mean filing on location. You have to bring your laptop and use an available Internet connection. Usually, you can use a Wi-fi provided by the event you are covering, from an Internet café nearby, or by using an open and non-protected one (which is officially not legal).

But sometime, you just can’t. You have to file from a place where there is no Internet available around and you don’t have the time to find one. What do you do then?

I knew I would have to invest someday, and the time came for on last week’s election. I had to file from a restaurant where the ADQ from the Quebec City area where rallying during the evening. No Internet was available (at the end, there was an access, but it crashed during the night so…)

I went to see my friend Patrick at Telus. I bought a Treo 700p, so I could use it as a modem. No cable needed, it use bluetooth to communicate with the laptop. It worked like a charm. The communication was fast; a couple of MB of pictures was transferred in just a few of minutes.

And since then, I’m in love with my Treo. I can synchronize my calendar from my computer and have my contacts list everywhere I go. I use it to receive and send email. I listen to my MP3 collection. I can browse the Internet. I can even make phone call! So when I am in the bus, I can read my RSS feed while listening to my music.

Sweet!

New website

Francis Vachon — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 21:06:52 -0400

Here it is: my new website (version française)

Newspapers Vs Magazines

Francis Vachon — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 18:50:02 -0400

When you shoot for a newspaper, it’s almost instant gratification. Usually, you see your picture in the paper in the next day’s edition. But when you do a job for a magazine, it can take several months before you see your work printed. For instance, I took those pictures of Dr. Claude Fournier for the Medical Post on January 12, and they just hit the stands – front page.

Blog unavailable...

Francis Vachon — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 13:52:34 -0400

I hate it when I bust my bandwidth like I did last week. The blog was unavailable for 4-5 days and it pisses me off big time!

I’ll move my blog pretty soon so it does not happen again. But before, I will unveil my new website. Soon. Like in a day or two. Stay tuned!

Remote camera

Francis Vachon — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 18:29:19 -0400

PocketWizards are great to fire remote flash, but they can be use to fire a remote camera too! Getty’s Donald Miralle show us how in a 3 part video.

Two polar bears on a melting ice

Francis Vachon — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 09:30:06 -0400

The story of a disputed photo

Canon Mark III at 3200 ISO

Francis Vachon — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 13:31:19 -0400

This image was shot with a pre-release Mark III at 3200 ISO (1/1000 @ f2.8). Do you see any noise? Very impressive!

Quiz of the day

Francis Vachon — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 16:52:09 -0400

A friend of mine pointed me this one.

Here is a photo published in Le Journal de Québec, credited to Benois Gariepy (Staffer at this paper). Here is the same photo published in Le Soleil (the other daily in Quebec City), credited to Laetitia Deconinck (staffer at Le Soleil).

So... Who took the picture?

More about the Sigma 200-500 f2.8

Francis Vachon — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 17:59:51 -0500

The photo provided in the link of my previous post did not give a good understanding of how big the lens is. Here are two photos of the mammoth that made me laugh so hard!

Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8

Francis Vachon — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 14:41:12 -0500

What a nice glass!

New client: La Presse

Francis Vachon — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 17:47:38 -0500

Just got myself a new client. I recently did a portrait for La Presse, the most prestigious French Canadian newspaper. Think of it like the Toronto Star: A big city broad sheet that also act as a provincial newspaper.

New Canon WiFi transmitter and 580EX II flash

Francis Vachon — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 11:44:56 -0500

Some Mark III videos

Francis Vachon — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:53:00 -0500

Canon 1D Mark III Live View mode

Canon EOS 1D Mark III (10 frames per second) vs Mark II N (8 frames per second)

We are not normal

Francis Vachon — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 08:06:55 -0500

We photographers are a bit crazy. I guess it’s the same for anyone with a passion.

I was looking at the video of the big fight during the Buffalo Sabres and The Ottawa Senators game where every player on the ice dropped the gloves, including the goalies. In the video, we eventually see the coaches verbally fighting for a while.

Who else looked between them noticed the photographer in the camera pit? Who else said, “Wow! Great location to shoot! There is not even a glass!!” Who else said “funny hat!” And who else said, “Drop you 70-200 and get a wide angle to get the coach, you stupid!” And who else eventually said “Good job!” when he did?

See the Mark III in action

Francis Vachon — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:15:45 -0500

Here is a neat video presenting the recently announced Canon EOS 1D Mark III. It's in French, but my fellow English friends should watch it anyway, just to hear the beautiful sound of the 10 frames per second machine gun.

Canon EOS 1D Mark III
Uploaded by LesNumeriques

Canon release the EOD 1D Mark III specs

Francis Vachon — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:17:23 -0500

The Mark III was officially announced today. Read the press release on dpreview, read the 60 pages pdf file.

Here is a quick list of the new features:

• World's fastest AF DSLR with approximately 10 fps continuous shooting in One-Shot AF or AI Servo AF
• Maximum burst (JPEG Large, compression level 8 ) approximately 110 shots; RAW, approximately 30 shots (based on Canon’s testing standards)
• Dual DIGIC III Image Processors for fine detail, natural color reproduction and high-speed performance
• ISO 100-3200 with ISO speed extension, L = 50, H = 6400
• 14-bit A/D conversion for fine gradation
• Live View in camera and remote, wired and wireless
• New 45-point Area AF sensor with 19 high-precision, cross-type points(f/2.8 compatible), 26 standard-precision Assist AF points
• New AF point selection methods
• AF micro-adjustment (fine adjustment of AF point of focus)
• Adjustable operation characteristics for AF point selection, shutter release priority and focus-tracking sensitivity with AI Servo AF
• New methods of AF point expansion during manual AF point selection
• New 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, APS-H size
• Improved microlens array and pixel fill factor plus optimized photodiode structure to increase light-reception efficiency
• Professional EOS Integrated Cleaning System with Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit, Dust Delete Data acquisition
• RAW, sRAW (new Small RAW), RAW+JPEG, sRAW+JPEG, JPEG+JPEG simultaneous recording
• Increased shutter durability of approximately 300,000 cycles
• Large and bright 3.0-inch LCD monitor with 230,000 pixels and wide viewing angle
• Five custom WB settings
• Selectable noise reduction for high ISO images, 50% less shadow noise for all images
• Selectable Highlight Tone Priority
• High-speed shutter with 1/8000 sec. maximum speed and high-speed X-sync at 1/300 sec. with EX Speedlites
• Startup time approx. 0.2 sec.
• Shutter release time lag approx. 55 ms. (approximately 40 ms. at maximum aperture with C. Fn IV -13-1) and viewfinder blackout time 80 ms. at 1/250 or higher
• Compatible with SDHC (SD High-Capacity) memory cards as well as high capacity CF cards
• Compatible with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed image transfer
• Faster writing to memory card
• High-magnification, wide-coverage viewfinder and improved focusing screen with 100% finder coverage
• 63-zone metering sensor for more stable exposure control with ambient light and flash
• High-capacity, lightweight and compact lithium-ion battery with estimated battery life display
• Enhanced recording options include automatic switching of recording media, separate recordings to media and identical recordings to multiple media
• Silent mode for single images
• Image copying and backup to external media enabled
• ISO speed safety shift
• ISO speed and metering pattern always displayed in viewfinder and on top LCD data panel
• New control layout with SET button, AF On button and Multi-Controller
• Displayable camera settings and better image information during playback
• Histogram display, jump display, error code display, and shooting settings display
• Chassis, mirror box, and exterior covers made of magnesium alloy
• Maintains water resistance with new 580EX II Speedlite
• Personal Functions consolidated with Custom Functions, resulting in 57 Custom Functions in 4 groups
• Custom Function settings can be registered and called up
• Camera settings can be saved and read
• Camera's basic settings can be registered and applied
• New “My Menu” function can be registered and displayed at startup
• Camera direct printing (PictBridge) improved and DPOF print ordering provided
• Direct printing of RAW and sRAW images
• Direct image transfer
• Wireless/wired LAN for image transfers via new WFT-E2A dedicated Wireless File Transmitter
• External USB recording media and GPS unit usable via the WFT-E2A
• Verification data can be generated, encrypted and appended to the image with new Original Data Security Kit OSK-E3
• Compatible with original image verification system
• Speedlite Custom Functions settable with the camera when the 580EX II Speedlite is attached
• New software package includes Digital Photo Professional 3.0 and EOS Utility 2.0

The bussiness of photography

Francis Vachon — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:07:39 -0500

What the duck #156

The Montreal Gazette

Francis Vachon — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 09:22:15 -0500

What I like with freelancing for the Montreal Gazette is that it is a very picture friendly newspaper. More than we are used to see with a broadsheet. If you provide them with two very different pictures, they are going do use both. Again today, they put one on the sports front and another one on the turn.

Once, I did a portrait of two native businessmen in the Huron-Wendake reserve. I did two very different portraits in two very different locations. Their where so different that both pictures where played pretty big on the business front page section!

Sympathy for the victims

Francis Vachon — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:07:58 -0500

Last summer, I told you about how disturbed I was after I photographed a double murder attempt. 2 days ago, Trent Nelson at the Salt Lake Tribune was covering the follow up of a shooting spree in a mall. He talked with two photographers who were there during the shooting.

When the man couldn't see clearly through the lens, the photographer brought up the image on the camera's LCD screen. Seeing the body, he said, "That's my wife," and collapsed in grief.

And Nelson to conclude:

How should journalists cover these moments of tragedy, especially when the pain is so fresh that the bodies are still uncovered? I can't give you a simple answer.

Biggest job yet

Francis Vachon — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 20:00:43 -0500

I’m pretty excited. I’m about to start my biggest assignment yet. It’s going to be three days of shooting, including one out of town. This should give me national exposure. I’m really happy to see that my client has that much confidence in me for such a big job.

Evidently, I will keep the details and the client’s name in the dark for now.

Scavenger

Francis Vachon — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 09:22:07 -0500

French photographer Paul Antoine Pichard present "Mine d'Ordure", a slideshow about the scavengers living in various dump around the world. It's in French, but I guess the images speak for themself.

Vista and photographers

Francis Vachon — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 08:42:35 -0500

You are a photographer? You are using a PC? You are thinking about upgrading to Vista? Maybe you wanna wait a bit.

2007 World press award

Francis Vachon — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 13:20:14 -0500

Winners of the World Press Photo contest have been posted.

Smile!

Francis Vachon — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:47:01 -0500

This photographer does not have to say "smile!" to his subject when he takes a portrait of them!

5 pictures published

Francis Vachon — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 14:58:45 -0500

It is a prolific day for Freelancer Vachon. I have today 5 pictures published in two different papers.

Yesterday, I was at Le Colisée for The Montreal Gazette to photograph the return of Patrick Roy behind the bench of the Quebec Remparts, his first game since the alleged incident in Chicoutimi. They used the picture of the standing ovation just before the game.

They also publish 2 pictures of the owner of GV Snowshoes (I like this one best) and a portrait of Joe Juneau.

The National Post used one of my pictures of filmmaker Joanne Marcotte. They did not use the one I prefer, so here it is.

Anatomy of An Assignment: 3 Minutes and counting

Francis Vachon — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:52:48 -0500

Yes, that's 3 minutes, 19 seconds. Two set ups, travel time between sets, everything. And, the client has dozens of images to choose from.

Anatomy of an Assignment at Photo business news & forum

Freelancing in Quebec City II

Francis Vachon — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 19:47:19 -0500

In the last few weeks, I worked a lot. I often work with freelance journalist Mark Caldwel. He works with many different publications, and he helps me get jobs with them. He is into in depth feature and profile, so many of my recent work is not published yet.

One of the heated debates amongst photojournalists is the one about crooked horizon pictures. Many think that if the picture is not good at first, tilting the horizon will not make it better. I attended Peter Power’s feature picture workshop at the last GWNW. At the workshop, Power defended his use of the crooked horizon by saying he use it only when that helps him filling his frame.

Before the workshop, I was personally not a big fan of tilting. I tried it only once with, I must admit, an interesting result.

However, Power’s words stayed in my mind and I decided to give it a try when I photographed Industry minister Maxime Bernier. The National Post recently made an in depth profile on him and they wanted a candid photo of him interacting with people in his ridding. Bernier is pretty tall. At least 6 feet tall. I was lucky to catch him chatting with the Mayor of St-Georges, the biggest city of his ridding of Beauce, 100 KM south of Quebec City. The mayor is pretty short. Maybe 5 feet 5. The picture looked awkward. A lot of empty space above the mayor’s head was making the picture look odd. I tilted the camera a bit, and got a picture with so much more impact. As Edmonton Sun photo editor Tom Braid would say: “taking picture is easy. Just fill your frame with valuable content, and light it!”

As I write this post, I realize how quickly we become rusty with a second language. I feel I write in English like a 10 years old kid would. Lucky me, there is a good chance my friend Natalie will pay us a visit from Toronto this weekend. That will help!

Fly on the wall

Francis Vachon — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 11:20:50 -0500

I love Salt Lake Tribune photographer Trent Nelson's blog : Fly on the Wall. You really get into his head as he tries getting the best picture. The guy in a chair is a perfect example of how he get around pretty well with a very dry subject.