Here are some links that you might want to check out during the weekend (assuming you have some spare time to surf the internet :) )

• Scott Kelby's reminder: KEEP AUG 23 OPEN! It's still a secret on what will happen during that day, but just keep it open. It's gonna be worth it!
• Terry White was a guest blogger at Scott Kelby's site and he has a great article on how to use iPhone or iPod Touch to share your photos
• A recent site visitor (Jim Bridges) shared his comments on how my Lightroom 300 presets are very useful to him...Anyway, my point is - he has a daily photoblog called 365,000 words. Check it out, very good photography there! And, if you like his site, make sure to vote for him in the 2008 Photoblog Awards.
• Digital Photography School came out with an article on EV Compensation - very useful read. The important is, know your camera and its functions so you can take advantage of it while shooting.
• Digital Photography School is also telling you all to Share Your Best Shot! - Post why you think these are your best shots and why... go ahead and post!
• FJ Westcott - check out the new FJ Westcott Community Site that was launched recently. Sign-up there and you might just be their Top 100 Endorsed Pros!
• Very good article on Layers Magazine on how to create 'stunning black & white images in Lightroom'

Oh, and before I forget - Scott Kelby just announced his new Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers! If you want to learn LR2 the right way and the quickest way possible, I suggest you get his book. You might ask - "How do you know this? Have you seen his new book?" Well, the answer is -- NO! Hahaha! I just know that this is going to be a BIG HIT based on how he wrote ALL of his past books. I have a lot of them! His Lightroom Book was one of the most useful resources on how I learned Lightroom. If you're excited to buy his new book, you may pre-order them at Amazon.com, or from KelbyTraining.com.

Here's the cover for his new book... I can't wait to get my hands on his book. Maybe I can have it autographed if I meet him at Photoshop World in Vegas this September!

That's it! Enjoy your weekend!

Korte tijd geleden maakte ik kennis met Niels Destadsbader. Hij timmert hard én succesvol aan zijn carrière als acteur. Misschien ben je hem al tegengekomen op TV bij de series Aspe, Familie of de musical van Suske & Wiske.

Een acteur voor je camera is een waar plezier. Zonder zijn concentratie te verliezen bleef hij even charmant, goedlachs en vrolijk voor, tijdens en na de fotosessie.

Dit is een teaser uit de eerste shoot in studio...
De MUA was in de veilige handen van Katleen De Mulder

Hace unos días recibí mi primera guitarra eléctrica... una Ibanez AF75 TDG. Como ven no estaba listo para dar un gran paso y pasar directamente a una stratocaster, telecaster, lespaul u otra de cuerpo sólido... la idea era hacer una transición con una con caja acústica... además que el sonido que da va bien con el estilo de música que me gusta, además que me permite tocar sin amplificación.

Si hay algo interesante en este tipo de guitarras son los detalles... y si no estas en un verdadero estudio como para controlar la luz ambiente o dejar un fondo de un color definido lo mejor para hacerlo es con la fotografía macro.

Aqui ya estaba usando la 50mm f/1.8 invertida con una iluminación lateral izquierda bastante cerca. Normalmente para obtener una mayor profundidad de campo (ya bastante reducida en macro) cierro bastante el diafragma por lo que acerco bastante la fuente de luz al sujeto... además obtendo una luz más suave. Estas son las 6a, 5a y una parte de la 4a cuerda sobre el puente (para los entendidos las cuerdas son D'Addario XL Nickel Round Wounds... que vienen con la guitarra de fábrica).

Esta es la parte de la base... el tiracuerdas que tiene un pequeña inscripción Ibanez. De estas hice una decena aproximadamente pero en la mayoría veía las macro-imperfecciones del metal además de las marcas de contacto... pero en esta foto ven que no se ve nada? es sólo porque se ve la superficie del softbox del flash. Para eviter reflejos duros usé un filtro polarizante. Abajo se ve el gancho para anclar la correa.

Justamente de lo que hablaba en la foto anterior... una vista frontal del ancla para la correa. Para que se hagan una idea de la magnificación al usar una 50mm f/1.8 invertida... esta foto no fue recortada verticalmente.

Esta fue la primera que hice de la serie. La hice con la Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR y con la iluminación exactamente sobre la caja de la guitarra a una distancia de unos 25 cm aproximadamente.

Una de mis favoritas de la serie. Esta es la perilla de volumen de uno de los pickups. La parte superior es transparente lo que hace que se formen figuras distorsionadas de la perilla que esta justo detrás a la derecha. Ilumimación superior bastante cercana otra vez.

Una sección del puente con la 6a cuerda. La iluminación esta vez estaba justo sobre la lente.

Otra de mis favoritas pero con un encuadre que se podría mejorar aún más teniendo la libertad de cambiar la focal... quizas dando una mayor profundidad a las cuerdas. Iluminación lateral.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="160" caption="Photoflex Litedome XS"][/caption]

La iluminación estuvo a cargo de un flash Nikon SB-600 fuera del cuerpo de la cámara conectado con un cable TTL Nikon SC-29. Como accesorio para la difusión de la luz usé un softbox Photoflex LiteDome xs. Espero escribir algo específicamente sobre este softbox para darles detalles del efecto de usarlo y algunos ejemplos comparativos... más tarde.

[caption id="attachment_241" align="alignleft" width="164" caption="Ibanez EW20ZWENT"][/caption]

NOTA AL PIE

Si en lugar de esta guitarra hubiera escogido una electroacústica habría seleccionado una de la línea Ibanez de madera exótica (EW)... seguramente la Ibanez EW20ZWENT fabricada con madera de zebra de África (African Zebrawood).

 

 

Hay muchas cosas que puedo dar por entendido... sobre todo en la parte técnica... por lo que los invito a dejar un comentario si tienen alguna duda o algo que agregar a este artículo... será un placer responderles ;)

DanCL
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DanCL » Blog por Daniel Fuentealba
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As a rule, I try to walk around the block a couple of times a night.  as I was walking this sunset continued to get more and more brilliant, so at the end of the first lap, I shot this HDR of it.  I created this in the usual fashion

I am still working on the NY images, you can see my progress with some of them to this point on the Flickr account and by this weekend, I should have a post on the trip, putting the images with words and in some kind of logical order.  We have people coming back from and going out on vacation this week at work, so my schedule is a bit harried, but I will work diligently to have something up for you all, hopefully by Saturday night.  In the mean time, I will still be putting up my daily dose so until next time...

Thanks for visiting...

but when they're down...(if i'm not) i'll be one songwritin', book readin', guitar playin', scrap bookin' fooo!

ps ~ feel free to visit www.braylon.com during this next week for newer pics of our lil family! i'm learning how to create "lightroom" galleries, categorized by the month so i can take over updating the website & get us (and anyone viewing) totally current. yeah for me!!

As far as equipment goes, people have their own preferences but there are a few things that all photographers most likely will appreciate.

Books or Magazine Subscriptions:

If your friend is a fan of Photoshop, you can't go wrong with a subscription to the magazine of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop professionals). Otherwise, Nature Photographer, Outdoor Photographer or digital photo books about a particular artist might be a good idea.

Cases and Bags:

As a photographer you need at least one bag, preferably two. Try Crumpler, Lowepro, Kata, Think Tank or Boda, where you can find special lens bags. Perfect for photographers who change lenses often and need easy access.

A good DSLR camera bag costs from $75, a point-and-shoot bag between $15-100.

Shoulder/neck strap:

A comfortable shoulder/neck strap is particularly important if you are out for a longer time period and have a larger camera.

Tripod:

One great tripod for tavel is Joby's Gorilla Pod. Larger cameras need a better and more expensive travel tripod.

Printer:

The price range for printers vary a lot, depending on what quality you'd like. If your friend already has a printer, why not buy more ink? That's always in demand.

Software:

The most popular editing softwares are Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

Lenses:

If the photographer already owns a DSLR (a digital SLR), lenses are a great buy. A mid-range lens, around 28-135mm, is a good start. Most people use 50mm. Otherwise, consider purchasing a telescope lens, or a wide-angle lens which is great for travel photography.

The maximum length depends on what type of photographing your friend does. For example, sports- and wildlife photographers want a longer lens than someone who only does portraits.

For a fun option, try Lensbaby. They bring one area of your photo into sharp focus, and surround the spot by gradually increasing blur. By bending your lens you can move the Sweet Spot to any part of your photo. Very convenient.

Flash:

What external flashes to use depends on the camera. Make sure to ask someone at the store, so you choose the right one. If your friend already has an external flash you might want to buy a flash bracket, which gives a nice angle of light by moving the flash up and away from the camera body. Another good flash accessory is the diffuser, which softens harsh flash light. Try Garo Fong's Light Sphere for $50. A Pop-Up Flash diffuser can be found at PUFFER - Pop-Up Flash Diffuser.

Batteries:

Extra batteries are always useful. Just remember to buy the right kind.

Memory cards:

Memory cards will always be appreciated, even if you don't buy the latest item. If you do want the best on the market, check out Eye-Fi, a 2 Gig WiFi card that acts as a memory chip and uploads images directly to your computer without the need of any cords or cables. You can get it for $99.99 at http://eye.fi/ This card can also upload images (JPEG only) to various photo sites.

Blank CDs and DVDs:

Apparently all normal CDs and DVDs have a life expectancy of about 10 years. To stay on the safe side, opt for Verbatim or Delkin that specialises in CDs and DVDs that last much longer.

Image storage:

Some travel photographers like to use small, portable hard drives. Hyper Drive is one of the better since it runs solely on battery power. It's not cheap though, expect to pay $279-$459 at Hyperdrive.com

Apart from these suggestions, you can always DIY and frame a photo or do a nice collage with different pictures. All photographers appreciate beautiful images.

Encontrei um site para edição de fotos online muito parecido com o Photoshop, para quem já está familiarizado é bem prático. É o Slashup, clique aqui para conhecer.

Para os usuários do Lightroom eu recomendo este link. Lá você encontrará novas presets gratuitas para download.

E aqui existem actions de Photoshop reunidas para download, gratuitamente.

Algumas dicas só para começar a semana ;)

Shot with a q flash in to an umbrella and available light.

TO VIEW COMPLETE SHOOT CLICK BELOW

SLIDESHOW

Or Echinacea Purpurea...I think. 

I hope you all had a great weekend...

Thanks for visiting...

Westosha Airport...Wilmot, Wisconsin...8:00pm...the sun showed itself for the last time after only being out from the clouds for an hour or so all day. It was a perfect evening for flying the pattern and practicing the various take off and landing techniques as the visibility, while more than 3 miles, was pretty hazy, and the sky did not look like it was ready to completely give up its stormy nature just yet...

Thanks for visiting...

So, to continue...

Well, now I come to think about it there's not really a lot to add. I've confirmed, and indeed re-confirmed, that the Samsung GX20's RAW files are rendered quite nicely with the supplied software (Samsung RAW Converter 2.0). But with my second testing of this I took it a stage further and developed a JPEG from the RAW file (full size, 100% quality) then inspected the resulting image not in my normal "quick and dirty" image browser (XNView - which actually doesn't do any favours to pictures whatsoever) or even in Lightroom, but with Samsung's own Samsung Master (their JPEG-editing app).

Yep. It'll do for me. I have still to do some extensive testing under a variety of more rigorous lighting conditions of course, but I don't really anticipate any major problems at all now.
Checking for a second opinion with the oracle whom I'd consulted previously, he suspected (though was by no means certain) there is still a hint of a magenta boost, but nothing especially significant.

By now feeling a bit more positive and adventurous, thought I'd try something else (being careful not to get too carried away of course).

As the Samsung RAW Converter has virtually sorted out the colour problem with the GX20, what about the GX10 I wondered?
Possibly having mentioned it once or twice here on the blog, but definitely having referred to it a few times on my Flickr photostream, shots from the GX10 have nearly always seemed to exhibit a somewhat blueish tone. Although I've been aware of it, and have occasionally sought to minimise it, the imbalance has never really bothered me as it tends (in my opinion anyway) to give the pics a rather "clean" attractive quality. But its niggled away in the back of my mind that its not quite as accurate a rendition as I'd like.

Thus, call up a few RAWs from the GX10 in the converter and, whaddya know? The blue's gone! Sorted!

But this is where I start getting a bit silly.

So if the Samsung converter works pretty well with the Samsung files (no... I don't, repeat don't, want to hear anyone mutter "Well, that's obvious isn't it, you plonker!" Remember, I'm a self-confessed idiot) then how would the Canon converter (Digital Photo Professional) work with files from the 400D?
Would it, for example, eliminate that irritating yellowish tint that seems to bedevil a lot of the shots from the camera?
Clearly I was riding the crest of a wave here for the answer, in short, is yes it does!

(Oh... and somewhere along the way I had to make sure that all the relevant apps were reading the right colour profile for my machine. Not the default one but the one generated by my colour calibration thingy.)

However, all of these really great, really positive developments have created something of a dilemma for me. Moreover, a dilemma that I find curiously depressing. Not suicidally depressing admittedly (not yet, anyway), but a sort of "oh bugger" type depressing.

At the very heart of my methodology in dealing with pics (from camera right through processing to uploading to the web, and indeed archiving etc) is the rather delightful Adobe Lightroom.
All the fault of my mate of course. He'd sung its praises as a super general-purpose workhorse for dealing with RAW files.

Er... wait a mo' though. This was the same "mate" that finally persuaded me to try working in RAW instead of JPEG in the first place. Dammit! That should have been warning enough for me. I dunno, some people just never learn.

Anyway, Adobe Lightroom. It is a super app. The first problem I had with it (and the one that delayed my embracing it fully for a good coupla months) was the interface. Its a bit complex. Not to put too fine a point on it, I couldn't get my head around it at all. Nothing was where I expected it to be (in fact, I'm still discovering features I never knew it had!), and what I could see in terms of controls and suchlike often didn't do what I thought they would, but something else entirely. Disconcerting, to say the least!

Naturally I rarely read any help files or manuals. That's far too much like hard work for me. If the hands-on approach don't crack it then it ain't worth bothering with... that's my philosophy.

I vividly remember my first try-out of it (and this was even before I'd started properly working in RAW (tried it thanks to mate's badgering, too intimidating, gave up), so was simply doing an edit of a JPEG). Having made the desired changes to the pic, the next obvious step was to do a "Save as"... cos obviously I didn't want to overwrite the original.
So I looked for the "Save as" button, or link, or something. And looked. And looked.

Weird. There isn't one. Yet my mate had clearly said (frequently, in a boringly repetitive way) that one of Lightroom's strong points was its non-destructive editing feature. So it has to offer some sort of a "Save as" option, surely? Perhaps, thinks I, I need to close the program and it'll pop up a little dialog asking me if I want to save the work, and if so, what as.

So I close the program. No, it doesn't. And bang goes a fair bit of work. Sod it! That took me back to my very early days in computing when 20Mb (yes, that's megabytes!) was considered a huge hard drive, and I... no... that's a story for another day.
(That's not strictly true actually. The "bang goes a fair bit of work" statement, that is. For I subsequently discovered that Lightroom edits "persist" until one selects the "reset" option for the relevant image/s.)

Anyway, after the obligatory wailing, gnashing of teeth and beating of breast (cos I didn't know about the "persistence" feature at the time), some head-scratching. Then open the program again and hunt for the "Save as" control. Don't find it. Sit back, have a think. Then another hunt. Then close the program in disgust. Leave it for a coupla weeks whilst I have a good old sulk.

But eventually irritation gets the better of me. At computers (damn stupid things); at Lightroom (damn stupid program); at my mate (damn stupid... well, perhaps not); at Life in general. So I fire off a quick (and, now I come to think of it, rather pleading) email to him, suggesting that a little bit of guidance in the highly complex task of saving an edit wouldn't go amiss.

So he, ever patient (knows me too well, obviously), explains.

That button, that big one, the second of those two big buttons down on the left-hand side, the first clearly marked "Import", the second clearly marked "Export". Well, try clicking the Export button.

Oh yes. Of course. Blindingly obvious, isn't it? Duh.

What made the entire episode even more infuriating is that in my saner moments (rare though they may be) I like to consider myself something of a computer geek. I play with them. I work with them. And when I've finished working with them, I play with them again. Have done for years. And years. And years.
But see a big button with "Export" marked on it and interpret that as being a "Save as" option? Not a chance. Think I should just pack in all this computer lark here and now.

Having overcome that first major hurdle I began to take to Lightroom like a duck to water.
Twiddle this, slide that, click something or other else. The features are marvellous (and I still haven't sussed, and probably even discovered, all of them), plus some real snazzy ones that I've been unable to find on any other photo-editing prog.
I like the way it works. I like the subtlety and quality of the changes you can make with it. I even like (once I got used to it) the interface! Then I started working with RAW files and wow! The program really comes into its own. Such that its become my photo-editing program of choice. In fact, the only one I ever use... until now, that is.

Criticisms? Yeah, two (until just recently I only had one of course).
First, its use of system resources. Adobe recommends a minimum 1Gb RAM. And the machine I do my photo work on only has 512Mb! Ok, Lightroom runs, and if working with JPEGs there's no real problem. But RAW files can be another matter entirely.
When working with those from the Canon it wasn't too bad (though I had to slow down my workflow just a little bit). The GX10 presented somewhat more of a problem with its larger file sizes, and many was the time the machine would just drag its heels or the program would freeze on me until I learned a coupla tricks to overcome the bottlenecks. But files from the GX20? Well, the only way to return to comfortable working would be to increase the RAM. That's if I continue to use Lightroom of course.

Now in fairness I can't really say that's a criticism of the program per se. After all, resource-hungriness isn't unique to that app... most notable offender being Microsucks themselves of course.

And the second criticism is this most recent discovery... that Lightroom doesn't support all RAW files equally!
Adobe themselves say...

"The camera raw functionality in Adobe® Photoshop® software provides fast and easy access within Photoshop to the "raw" image formats produced by many leading professional and midrange digital cameras. By working with these "digital negatives," you can achieve the results you want with greater artistic control and flexibility while still maintaining the original "raw" files."

They go on to say...

"The Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in (2.3 or higher) now also supports raw files in the DNG format. Find out more about the benefits of the Digital Negative, a publicly documented raw file format recently announced by Adobe."

At this point I should perhaps explain that Samsung's RAW files are in the DNG format.
For anyone unfamiliar with this, here (again) is what Adobe themselves (who came up with the format!) have to say about it...

"Raw file formats are becoming extremely popular in digital photography workflows because they offer creative professionals greater creative control. However, cameras can use many different raw formats — the specifications for which are not publicly available — which means that not every raw file can be read by a variety of software applications. As a result, the use of these proprietary raw files as a long-term archival solution carries risk, and sharing these files across complex workflows is even more challenging.

The solution to this growing problem? The Digital Negative (DNG), a publicly available archival format for the raw files generated by digital cameras. By addressing the lack of an open standard for the raw files created by individual camera models, DNG helps ensure that photographers will be able to access their files in the future."

And finally Adobe, on their own website, specifically list the RAW files produced by both the Samsung GX10 and the GX20 as being supported by Lightroom!

(Quotes from the Adobe Lightroom website apart from the latter which is quoted from www.adobe.com/products/dng/)

I suppose in fairness I have to acknowledge that Lightroom does support the Samsung files, but only in the sense that it will actually read them and translate the data into recognisably an image. But as for rendering it correctly, well, forget it.

Which means I've now, finally, come to the source of my "oh bugger" type depression.

For what all this means is that there's now a high probability that in future I shall have to change my working methodology insofar as using each manufacturer's proprietary apps for processing pics from both the Samsungs and the Canon.
Doesn't mean that I shall abandon Lightroom entirely of course. Oh no. I like it far too much for that. It'll always come in handy as a prog for emergency fixes, or for working with JPEGs, or possibly even (as my mate suggested) working with tiffs (but only when I've upgraded the RAM, cos tiff files are bloody huge!).

Well, I think that's about it for the mo'. And for someone who started off with having "not really a lot to add" I think I've probably excelled myself!

So I left to go get dinner with my tail between my legs at Pick Up Stix where the Orange Peel Chicken was super spicy and where I listened to the In Rainbows album on my phone......

Forget about your house of cards
And I'll deal mine
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll deal mine

Fall off the table,
Get swept under
Denial, denial

The infrastructure will collapse
Voltage spikes
Throw your keys in the bowl

Kiss your husband goodnight

Not much to say tonight, I just liked the contrast of the black etching on the metal and boosted it as far as I could before multiplying the layers together, sending any weak portions of the image into the blackness.   

Tomorrow promises to bring storms so I am thinking a macro fest is in order, but we shall see, if there is enough of a break I am going flying...so there...

Thanks for visiting...

Taking them in order then:

Under-exposure

This could well be a lens issue and as such I'm not letting myself get too concerned by it until after I've tried some shots with a different lens. Its also conceivable that in part its a side-effect of the colour-balance issue, though I doubt it. In any event its fairly easily remedied, either pre- or post- shot, so can hardly be called an "issue" so much as a "quirk".

Loss of Detail

This was of much greater concern, and the source of much of my initial disappointment.
Of course, this too could have been a lens issue, but equally as well may not have been. And if not, then not so easily remedied. In fact, if a sensor- or processor-related problem then I doubt if it could be remedied at all short of a firmware upgrade maybe. Hence my concern.

However, that impression was formed on the basis of the dozen or so pics I shot with the camera virtually straight out the box (just couldn't wait, could I?) and conceivably I hadn't paid quite as much attention either to the settings or in actually taking the shots as I should have done.
And when I inspected the track and river shots I'd done, aside from the persistent colour issue I was much more satisfied.

I subsequently sent one of the RAW files from the river set to a mate for closer scrutiny by a much more experienced eye than mine, and his opinion was, to quote "the GX20 has sort of a clarity that is intriguing, its the detail in the images that is clear and the file looks neat in appearance, think if the white balance is sussed it will be bloody good too", which really does sum it up quite nicely.
And that's with the bog-standard lens that came with the camera!

So I think the "loss of detail issue" isn't an issue after all and can be confidently forgotten.

But there still remains...

Colour Cast

This is clearly a white balance problem and, after looking closely at all the shots, plus taking on board the various comments made about the pics I'd posted to Flickr (which drew attention to either a pink or a purple tone in the shots) I began to suspect (and eventually confirmed to my satisfaction) a problem with the magenta.

With a lot of tinkering in post-processing its possible that the colour can be corrected, but that would inevitably entail a helluva lot of work on each individual image just in getting them to look as they should look. And I'm not at all convinced that configuring a camera-specific preset in Lightroom (my RAW editing app of choice) to do all this work on image import would necessarily be effective for every image taken under a wide range of circumstances.
Now I'm not totally opposed to enhancing a particular colour or manipulating the colour balance at post-processing stage, providing I'm starting out with an image that provides a fairly accurate colour balance! Absent that and one is no longer looking at an artistic interpretation (hmm... please forget I just used the word "artistic". Don't know what came over me for a moment there!) but at a flawed image. Not good!

Curiously, this matter of colour balance also seems to be exhibited by the other cameras (blue with the GX10, yellow with the 400D), but nowhere near to the same extent and not with every shot. In other words, the anomalies are at a reasonably acceptable level, and not every pic merits tweaking.

However, it was suggested to me that maybe the problem's not with the camera itself but with the way its writing RAW files, especially if the version of firmware its using to do this is different to that of the GX10 (which it is).
So two ideas came out of this... either use the RAW conversion software that comes with the camera (which I don't), or make sure I've got the latest stable version of Lightroom (which I hadn't).

Now, I've got the RAW converter app that came with the GX10 installed though I never use it, preferring instead to use Lightroom. So I'd not bothered to install the later version with the GX20, not even having considered using it.
However, I uninstalled the GX10 version then installed the later version... and whaddya know? The shots look fine! (Curiously, they also load a damn sight quicker than with Lightroom.) Not even a hint of colour imbalance.

Feeling a tad more optimistic, I set to thinking... So if its the way the data's being read as opposed to a flaw in the camera itself (or indeed in its settings), then maybe upgrading to the latest version of Lightroom might render a similar result.
And that's what I did.

Hmm. Well, Lightroom continued to render the files with a magenta tone bias in the white balance (confirming my original diagnosis at least)... but this time showing that in the control panel as a +10 increase. Which it hadn't been doing before... or at least, not that I'd noticed.
Knocking that +10 off (to effective 0) I exported some test JPEGs. They were definitely an improvement but, alas, not quite enough. However, this does suggest that if I want to persist in using Lightroom for processing the GX20 files (which is my preferred option) then at least I can overcome the problem relatively easily simply by setting the tone slider for that colour spectrum in the opposite direction.

Whoopee!

But another couple of possibilities emerge from this.

It looks as though, if I use the Samsung-supplied RAW converter I may well be able to see the files rendered as they should without any additional tweaking on my part. And if that's the case, that further suggests that processing done in-camera will probably be okay, meaning that JPEGs should come straight off-camera fine.

Which of course needs testing. And if that's the case, then maybe I could use the GX20 principally for shooting JPEGs, reverting to RAW only on really critical shots or where I anticipate a lot of post-processing. (In other words, use it as my main "events" camera.)

Now this may seem a bit of a bizarre approach for using a dSLR, but it does actually have certain merits.
For example, when I did the Carnival Against the Arms Trade shoot in Brighton earlier this year the folk down there were eager to grab some pics urgently (practically straight off-camera) in order to send out to various media (who were squawking for photos) in virtual real-time.
Yet that presented horrendous problems as they simply weren't geared up to handle RAWs, and neither did they, or I, have the right connector to simply process in-camera and then plug the GX10 into their computer. Nor, weirdly, did they have a card-reader on hand (neither, stupidly, did I!). We came up with a work-around eventually but by that time they'd grabbed initial shots from someone else so I missed out on what could have been a really super opportunity.

Shooting in JPEG (plus carrying a card-reader of course!) would have sorted that problem. In fact, the problem would never have arisen.

(Memo to self... in future be sure to carry a card reader and PC connection cables for both cameras whenever attending an event. I don't call myself an idiot for nothing y'know!)

Then there's the matter of the file sizes. Were I to shoot principally in JPEG I wouldn't have to invest in a lot of new high-capacity cards, nor would I be stretching computer resources to their limits if/when importing the files into Lightroom.

At best this is only a partial solution for it'd only really be relevant to my "events stuff". Where my "scenic" shots are concerned I think I'd still want to shoot RAW, preferring the much greater flexibility in processing, and quality-retention, that such allows.

Nevertheless, things are looking a lot more hopeful now.

In conclusion then, I have to ask myself how I feel about the camera now.
I won't claim to be ecstatic. And I'm still mildly disappointed by not having experienced that joy of playing with a new toy that I feel I should have experienced. In that sense, I feel somewhat cheated.

But at least now I don't have the inclination to chuck the bloody thing straight back to the place from whence it came. In fact, if my mate's assessment bears out, then the thing will prove to have been a worthwhile acquisition.
And you can be assured, now I've started this particular topic I'll be posting news of later developments.

Well, that'll be something to look forward to, now won't it? (Heh heh)

I got the opportunity to drive one of my favorite cars today. A 1947 MG TC in mint condition.  My only regret is that this is the best shot I have of it...well so far...we usually see it a couple of times a season if not more (the benefits of a 60 year old car).

Thanks for visiting...

My son recently asked me how to create an HDR image in Photoshop. I hated to admit it but I hadn't tried it yet. It's been on my list of techniques to experiment with for a while but I just haven't gotten around to it. Setting aside the excuses, I went digging and found some really good tutorials on this subject. I liked Colin Smith's Merging HDR in Photoshop. Mark Galer has a good one too, called HDR - High Dynamic Range. There's also a video by him (I think) called Merge to HDR in Photoshop CS3 High Dynamic Range. He uses different imagery than in the html version. If you want a different video tutorial, try the one on Adobe TV called Merge it Together. Ben Willmore's quickie YouTube videos Part 1 and Part 2 are teasers for his HDR Mastery DVD ($69).

A video from Michael Rather advises how to set up and manage your shots in Lightroom for an HDR outcome. The last half of this video tells how to fake the different exposures from a single shot. The problem is that Photoshop doesn't really work well with this and it requires you to purchase a separate piece of software for HDR processing. Michael also has a 28-minute video on how to create HDR images in Photoshop. (This is only part 1 and he mentions that he'll have another video on how to shoot for HDR in about one week.)

One of the extras you'll need to create HDR shots is a tripod. I recently asked Moose Peterson to recommend a good tripod for an amateur photographer like me. I told him that I'm not an equipment geek and I like to travel light. He recommended anything in the 2000-3000 series from this company. Wow! They are pricey, but he says they are worth it. I'll be taking his upcoming photo safari workshop at Photoshop World in Las Vegas. Should I buy the tripod?

Here's what you need to know about metadata...

A digital image comes from the camera with EXIF data automatically embedded. This is the data showing the camera's exposure settings, lens choice, color balance, etc. It normally isn't editable. 

IPTC information, however, IS editable and can be found in JPEG, TIFF and RAW files. In the IPTC metadata is where you record your name, where you shot the photo, a caption and a lot more. This is also where you'll want to embed keywords, copyright and contact information to help with future searches.

Last in line, XMP metadata is created whenever you change the look of RAW files and includes information about the alterations you made to the image during post processing. This data is usually saved as a separate "sidecar" .xmp file that has the same file name as the photo it modifies (the same except for, of course, the ".xmp" extension!).

As you can see, these three types of metadata serve specific, useful purposes. For finding your images after the fact, however, the IPTC metadata is the most useful. Get in the habit of adding an IPTC info template with at least your name and contact information on every image you download onto your computer. Take time to add relevant keywords such as the name of the people in your photo, location, event, etc.

Having the right kind of information embedded into your image's metadata will make it easier to use image editing software to make searches with a degree of precision you wouldn't have otherwise. So take advantage of the power of metadata and get in the habit of adding as much information you can to everything you shoot. Believe me, being able to quickly find your photos years after you've made them is a good thing!

To view a Slideshow of the whole shoot click below

SLIDESHOW

]]> http://jonosay.wordpress.com/?p=176 Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:55:46 +0000 Jonosay http://jonosay.wordpress.com/?p=176

This is an altered version of what I think I am going to enter as the "patterns" themed contest in the Macro Untouched group on RedBubble... I cannot resist "touching" the images though, so I will post this as the day's image and put the raw one into the contest. Wish me luck.

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Therefore I'll just relay to you the three Lightroom blogs I read most often:

• Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider
• Matt Kloskowski's Lightroom Killer Tips
• O'Reilly's Inside Lightroom

I just posted one of the photos from yesterday's Farmer's Market photoshoot over at my photo gallery.

Editor's Note: For now I'll just be referring you over to my gallery to see newly posted images so I don't have to upload the images to two different Blog services. However, if an image is needed for any of my tutorials or articles I'll be sure to use them in here.