Donnie is back with smart objects in episode 11. Fragile egos beware.
How Camera Lenses Are Made
The following video sheds some light on the detail that goes into making those lenses that we all love to put on the end of our DSLRs.
How To: Single-Image HDR
The following post on HDR photography is by Atlanta based photographer Zach Matthews. Learn more about him at the end of this post.
Over on The Itinerant Angler forums, we’ve spent some time bad-mouthing HDR, and to some extent that is fair. When HDR is over done, it can result in a jacked up, unnatural image.
However, the fact remains that the human eye can see a lot broader dynamic range (meaning brights and darks) at the same time than a camera can. This is because the human eye can vary its “ISO” or exposure sensitivity locally in just one area rather than only across the whole image. This is what allows you to see the inside of a darkened room as well as the brightly lit world out the window at the same time. A camera could only see one or the other.
We have a number of situations in streamside photography (the area most of us work in – but don’t think this technique is limited to that) where we need a broader dynamic range than the equipment allows. The classic situation is one of side light, where light from beside the subject is lighting it (usually a person casting) beautifully, but the background is dark. At times, this can look unnatural. [Read more…]
Heads Up Nikon D3 Users: Image Authentication and Buffer Clearance
A quick heads up to those shooting with the Nikon D3, (this presumably effects the other Nikons too?)…If you are shooting with Image Authentication turned on, the buffer clearance times are increased. With my Extreme IV card it took an extra 10 seconds to dump a full buffer to the card.
Despite it being mentioned in one spot in the manual (but not in the image authentication section) most people I have talked to were unaware of this and as it could mean missing shots (especially for sports shooters) it is worth spreading the word.
This post on Nikon D3 Image Authentication and Buffer Clearance Issues is by UK based photographer and Nikon D3 shooter Richard Costin.
DIY Softbox
Last weekend, my wife asked me if I wanted to shoot her brother’s yearbook pictures. I said, “Sure,” without really knowing what to expect. She told me they would be less formal than a traditional high school’s yearbook photos because, in his home school group, it’s up to the parents to get the photos done and to the yearbook editors. “Something nice in the backyard,” she said. Upon my arrival, however, the in-laws wanted a more traditional/formal shot for the yearbook.
Softboxes for $0.16
I don’t really have a great portrait setup, so my next question was, “Do you have a couple of shoeboxes?” [Read more…]
Hold On to Your Camera
Joe McNally gives some solid advice (as usual) on how to hold your DSLR.
TimeShooting, An Alternative to Photowalking
Are you interested in Photowalking, but don’t know anyone like Thomas Hawk or Rich Legg to walk with? Consider TimeShooting.
The advantage of this idea is you don’t necessarily have to *be* in a particular place at a particular time – all you have to do is have your camera with you at that time. If you happen to be at your office, click away. At home? Take shots of your kids. On the bus? Take pics of the city streets.
The first TimeShoot was great – the Flickr page received pictures of moose, housecats, indoors, outdoors, lighthouses, beaches, beer, ice, at least one person in a bathtub and shots from four different continents! (via Shawn King)
The next TimeShoot is planned for March 9th at 6pm ET. Head on over to Shawn King’s page on The Digital Camera Conference for more.
UPDATE: Bryan from the PhotowalkingUtah crowd dropped me a line in response to this post. Here’s what he has to say:
Ann, Rich and myself have organized a number of photowalks in the SLC area since the first one you linked to and we’ve got lots of new photowalks planned for SLCPhotowalking. But I should let you know that we’ve changed the name of our group to PhotowalkingUtah to reflect the amazing success our group that has been drawing people from all over the Utah area. We’ve also grabbed http://www.photowalkingutah.com/ that currently links back to the Flickr group.
All of you Ute’s have no excuse not to be Photowalking. Head on over to PhotowalkingUtah to get the details on the next event.
Nikon D200 GPS – DIY
Do you to add GPS to your DSLR and save some serious cash along the way? Consider Rick Wargo’s Nikon D200 DIY GPS unit.
I’ve had it for quite a while and love it: a new and improved of my original GPS design for my D200. This time it’s smaller, practical and easy; just mount it on the flash shoe, plug it in to the 10-pin connector and turn it on! Within no time at all GPS coordinates will be flowing into the camera.
Cool stuff Rick! Thanks for teaching the rest of us something useful.
10 Tips for Breaking into Commercial Magazine Photography
The following post on commercial magazine photography is by Atlanta based photographer Zach Matthews. Learn more about him at the end of this post.
Every amateur photographer who’s ever flipped through a magazine has shared the same fleeting thought: I could do this. I am this good. And who’s to say that’s wrong? With the advent of digital image-making, cameras have become not just tools to record and describe, but tools that teach. The mean of photographic quality has skyrocketed in recent years, as a casual perusal of Flickr or a photography hobbyists’ board will immediately illustrate. What, then, is holding amateur photographers back? Why aren’t they selling images to magazines and commercial clients? Why aren’t you?
The difference between a working professional and a dedicated amateur is fairly minimal these days, and it has a lot more to do with business decision-making than talent or equipment. A number of important differences jump immediately to mind, however. The way I see it, there are two types of professionals: full time, and everyone else (and by that, I mean you, too). The full-time professional starves his way to the top. Typically a full-time pro goes to photography school, where he learns darkroom techniques, film chemistry, light physics, and the hard, cold reality of living paycheck to paycheck for decades. Most full-time pro photographers share one thing in common: they’re broke. But not all. A sizable population of working professionals make a living at photography, and they do it with the same business acumen necessary to operate as any entrepreneur. They set up a shop, build a client list, hire employees, and above all, they shoot their tails off.
Full-time pros of my acquaintance in the outdoor photography world spend as much as 40 weeks a year in the field. In my business, that’s in far-flung locations, involving international travel, injections, passports, broken gear, and hard deadlines. It isn’t an easy job, and it’s a long climb to the top, but eventually these pros tend to top out and make a respectable living.
There’s only one problem: chances are, this isn’t you. Full-time professional photographers won’t be reading this article; they know the route to success, they are logging their hours as we speak, and they’re aware of the rules of the game. But here’s the question: would you really want to be a full-time pro? What if you could have all the benefits, including international travel (for money), access to the best locations (for money) and the respect and praise of your peers, sometimes even for money, all while keeping your day job? It’s not a bad option, is it? [Read more…]
DIY Image Stabilizer
Are you having trouble deciding between Canon and Nikon’s lens-based stabilization versus Pentax, Olympus and Sony’s sensor-based stabilzation? Why not just do it yourself – for a buck?
$1 Image Stabilizer For Any Camera – Lose The Tripod – video powered by Metacafe
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