Monthly Archives: May 2008
Better luck next time
Heh – I had been so good lately about planning ahead and recording my video podcasts ahead of schedule and just setting a publish time in WordPress, I got on an automatic pilot routine. When that routine got disrupted from some dental and sleep deprivation issues the other day, I didn’t realize until just a short time ago that the post for Friday had not been scheduled. Not only had it not been scheduled – it didn’t even get written yet! So, a thousand pardons as I rush to get a somewhat photo-related post out before the end of the … Continue reading
In the News – Doo Wah!
Bop bop doo bop doo bop do wow! Okay, sorry, that’s a bad skit for the great jazz tune from the ’50′s, but nevertheless, whenever I hear the phrase “in the news” I feel compelled to sing that line. Now, for your real news from CB today: I’ve got two stories for you, some news from Adobe on the next iteration of Photoshop and some Canon news on the Canon Hacking Development Kit (aka CHDK) that is now maing waves. Read on for all the details! Adobe Photoshop News Well, the big news I read today during lunch was that … Continue reading
Back to Basics – Rule of Thirds Grid
After I recorded and started production on this tutorial my mind began to remember that perhaps I had covered this subject before. I reviewed the subjects I have posted over at the Tutorial Resource Center and did not see it covered there, so figure I am not repeating some tutorial I have already done. Having said that, this is kind of a return to the basics. The tutorial came about actually from reading a question on the NAPP forums – a fellow NAPP member was asking about whether PS has a similar Rule of Thirds Grid like the one in … Continue reading
Quality versus quantity
“Okay, I’m done.” “That’s it? You’ve only been shooting for ten minutes!” “Yep, got about 50 shots, I should have 4-6 proofs for you from that bunch.” “So we’re done?” “Pretty much…I mean I can keep shooting, but there’s really no point, it’ll just be duplicates of the same stuff.” This was the dialog I had with a co-worker a short time ago when I went to take pictures of her son for her. It is indicative of a mentality that exists in society…not only is size king, but so is quantity. If you were to take two photographers and … Continue reading
Monday “McNallyisms”
Thanks to David Hobby over at Strobist for posting this on Saturday – apparently I have been missing the boat on videos lately as Google has a pretty extensive video archive of well-known people that they get to come out to the campus in CA and speak for a short while. David posted the YouTube video of Joe McNally (which was posted last Wednesday on YouTube). Normally I guess people speak for about ten minutes or so. Joe McNally’s talk – 1 hour! He naturally talks about The Moment it Clicks, but I walk away amazed every time I hear … Continue reading
Finally Friday – A Week in Review
Yes, it’s finally Friday, and with a long weekend ahead of us, we can enjoy a little more down time. Mine will start about 30 seconds after I finish this post! Anyway, some updates on the Orphaned Works Act – some very passionate members of the NAPP community have been working together to get a website up to get the word out on a broader basis, so keep your browsers tuned to www.defendyourart.com over the next few days as updates, links to news items, and representative info will be going live. Additionally, posters and graphics are being compiled for people … Continue reading
Aspect Ratio adjustments explained
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve gone to print pictures I’ve taken only to find that I had composed it in a way that a portion of the image was lost when printed because it had to be cropped out to fit on the paper. Today I am going to share a technique in Photoshop that will help you get around that pesky limitation. First a little background – the reason why we are losing part of the picture is because we are changing the aspect ratio. What is aspect ratio? Simply enough, it’s the relative size … Continue reading
Orphaned Works Act
I am supplanting the weekly tutorial to help get the word out about this impending legislation. It basically allows for the taking of any work “where the creator cannot be found” but has no definition of what due diligence is needed, making it legal for anyone to basically abscond with anything. There is a renewed fervor to let our politicians know we do NOT want this passed as-is. An excellent link is available here to submit an email to your elected officials and let your voice be heard. All you need is your zip code. As this is an election … Continue reading
Tuesday Trip around the Web
There’s been a slight change of plans on the weekly schedule this week. Friend and fellow-blogger Jason Moore is out on “assignment” again (partying things up in France actually!), and a couple of us are filling in for his weekly P&P blogroll post where he summarizes the imagery activities of fellow Photoshop and Photography bloggers as they share them with the world. Three of us share the duties this week, so be sure to visit Andrew’s blog (Visual Realia) and Michael Palmer’s site for the other portions of the P&P. So…without further ado: PhotowalkPro – Jeff Revell had a couple … Continue reading
Monday Pictures and Puzzles
Monday morning news. This past weekend I had a photo shoot I did for a co-worker and her kid (he apparently did not get very good school pictures this year). After about 20 minutes of shooting and putting him in various poses, I figured I had enough (about 50 shots) to get four poses for her to choose from. So, having done that, we sat back and sipped our morning coffee while the kids got ready to hit the beach. The older youngster was sitting around with us (older being relative – she was about 10-12). Playfully, without even looking, … Continue reading
Canon Canada Rebates announced!
As kind of an unannounced PSA, it seems that a mere two weeks after the news hit the airwaves that Canon was adjusting their gear prices by about 5% due to “increased fuel costs” and “unfavorable exchange rates”, Thursday they announced their Canada rebate program. Since I missed this in my Friday post, I figured a weekend post would be in order. For the newcomers to the world of photography and Canon and rebate programs, Canon typically does start rebates in Canada every year. This rebate program will then migrate to US retailers and e-tailers about two weeks after Canada, … Continue reading
Another Photo Finish Friday
With another Friday coming to an end, I am squeaking this one in under the wire too. After a deluge of rain delayed dinner and a few other odds and ends, I find myself finally sitting down to write the Friday post at 10:47 pm. Thankfully, the details are all worked out in advance so it really requires no additional work on my part. As promised, my latest web gallery is up and viewable on the photo site directly at this link here: A Day in the Park, but a few previews of the ones I really loved have lightbox … Continue reading
Geographic Composition
Jason Moore has a weekly feature on his blog, titled Geographic Composition. I was invited to join in that weekly activity, and am honored to do so. This week, my first in participating, the theme is “Yellow.” Stop over to Jason’s blog to see the entire grouping of shots… In other news, the TOP test will be officially moving to within the domain for Canon Blogger this evening. With the migration comes a new portal so you can take tests of different difficulties. The Basic Photography test is the one that has been out and in place for about a … Continue reading
You Want Fries With That?
We live in a world of super-sizing everything: From sodas to coffee, fries, meals, cars, and houses, bigger always seems to be better. This is no different in photography. From larger bodies, to larger bags to more Megapixels, we are constantly in pursuit of something “bigger and better.” The idea behind all of this is that the bigger the camera is, or the more megapixels you have, the larger you can print (or the more you can crop and still get a decent print). This is true for the most part. Higher MP counts translate to higher sensor resolution (note … Continue reading
Noise, Lighting, and Links – Oh My!
In lieu of a video tutorial today, I’ve recorded an audio podcast. The primary reason for this is because the tip I want to share involves a technique I don’t really have a good sample shot in my library to show you how to apply the technique. So…tune in to this special audio episode for Canon Blogger. Show notes include information on: I will have a new gallery of photos out on my photography gallery site tomorrow. Selective Noise Reduction A DIY Backlight (how to make your own) Not one, but 2 videos on lighting gear from www.prophotolife.com Jason Moore … Continue reading
Just another manic Monday
You know I had to do it eventually… Although, this week it could not be more true…I was on the first item of a “honey-do” list yesterday, upgrading the thermostat, and could not get things reconnected. Since it was a Sunday at 7pm the odds of getting an HVAC tech out was just not an option. As the temperature went up throughout the house, it had similar effects on my processing…I actually had to shut dwon after a thermal warning from the main PC. So, today after work, I had an HVAC tech out to fix the A/C, and resumed … Continue reading
Friday Flights of Fancy
I was out on a shoot Wednesday and in setting up, I realized I forgot my White Balance card. I always used my WhiBal card to get accurate settings – it’s the cornerstone of my entire workflow! I was sweating bullets…what would I do? Well, I’d read about white balancing en masse off the eyes, so thought it might work out. But, with the sunny afternoon, pupils were dilated, and kids were squinting, so…I went with the next best thing – their teeth! Turned out to work okay, and I’ve got about 20 shots to share with the mother at … Continue reading
Depth perception…
Depth of field, or DOF, seems to be a common area for discussion in photography, primarily because it is often subjective. What you choose for your depth of field in any particular image will have an impact not only on what is in focus and out of focus, but also on the impact the image has on the viewer. If your DOF is too shallow, a viewer may find the lack of a strong area of focus a turn off. Meanwhile, others may find the abstract nature of soft DOF appealing. Surely, DOF discussions are very much like opinions – … Continue reading
Digital Frames
Too often we take our work and share it out on the web in galleries, on blogs, and at various community forums to see the background colors don’t really do our shots much justice. I’ve seen forums with blue background colors, others with yellow, and much much more. This has the net effect of casting a hue across every image in that space. Your images take on that hue to a certain degree, and it can often negate an image more than many realize. Forum administrators and bloggers are starting to realize that neutrals are the best way to go, … Continue reading
Day swap
I was having some issues with the post production and rather than hold off until late tonight to release the tutorial, I figured it’d be better to just swap Tuesday and Wednesday’s posts, so today is an early edition of my week around the web: Jason Moore did his weekly round-up, and also saw his 600th post – congrats Jason! Andrew at Visual Realia has a really great take on the theme of flowers and dewdrops – check it out for some inspiration! I read up on the Copyright Law and Orphaned Works Act pending in Congress. Not good for … Continue reading
Freezing the frame (for Friday)
Read a neat little blurb in Popular Photography, May issue that I cut out and added to the “clip binder” recently…Four good rules of thumb for fast shutter speeds and what they translate to. So, regurgitated for you here today, are… Four Frame Freezing Follies 1/1000th of a second will freeze action moving either up and down or across the frame. 1/500th of a second is good for aerials (coming in over a scene, like in a plane or along those lines) 1/250th of a second is good for freezing action coming straight at you (toward the camera – unless … Continue reading
Less is More…
Thursday Thoughts for May 1st, 2008 In photography, the idea of keeping your scenes simple is one that I know about, but all too often, forget to consider during composition. I typically will see something and move to take the picture without taking into account the surroundings. Then later on the computer, I see stray objects or shadows I didn’t see in camera, or more correctly, didn’t think to take note of in camera. So, I hit the delete key and try again some other time. Invariably though, the best shots I get are the ones where either by intent … Continue reading
