HDR Photography

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range photography. is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminance between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wide dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight. The two main sources of HDR imagery are computer renderings and merging of multiple photographs, the latter of which in turn are individually referred to as low-dynamic-range (LDR) or standard-dynamic-range (SDR) photographs.

Tone-mapping techniques, which reduce overall contrast to facilitate display of HDR images on devices with

lower dynamic range, can be applied to produce images with preserved or exaggerated local contrast for artistic effect.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/03/10/35-fantastic-hdr-pictures/

The above link has lots of beautiful and amazing examples of HDR photography. You'll notice that the photographs reveal so much more detail and have a lot of vibrancy, they look like paintings almost.

http://www.pixiq.com/article/hdr-photography-how-to

The above link has serves as a guide on HDR photography as well as giving links to several other sites as well. There is also other software that can allow you to create HDR photos using just one picture instead of having to take a standard, negative, and over exposed photo and putting them together. Some people do not like the idea of HDR photography because of how fake and unnatural it can make photos look, but it is this reason why other people like it as well. I myself like them because of how surreal they can look, I find it really interesting! I actually enjoy making them from time to time (when I am not feeling lazy). You can produce some really neat results!

Panorama Photography

Panoramic photography is a technique of photography using specialized equipment or software, that captures images with elongated fields of view It is sometimes known as wide format photography. The term has also been applied to a photograph that is cropped to a relatively wide aspect ratio. The above picture is not mine, I unfortunately do not have any panoramas to share, this mainly due to the fact I do not live near any amazing scenery. I suppose I could be more creative when I attempt a panorama as there are a few ways this can be done.

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/panoramic-photography-30-breathtaking-photos/

Lots of beautiful panoramas in the link I posted. There is so much you can capture in a photo it is simply amazing. Panoramic photography can be done a few ways. Some cameras have a built in shooting mode for panoramas, while ones without it would have to use other software to combine the photos, such as Adobe Photoshop. Again there is probably some free software you may use as well if you're good at finding stuff on the net. Also if you have a camera that can take panoramas it really helps to have a tripod. Even if you can't shoot a panorama on your camera the tripod still helps to keep everything even for when you merge the other images in other software. You can also make it abstract by taking several photos of a scene and arranging them in a way so that it shows what the image is, but is represented in a more interesting way such as taking the pictures at different angles and messing with transparency settings. It all takes creativity and how much time you are willing to spend editing.

Selective Color

Selective color is subtracting colors from one another so that only the ones you want will stand out. Doing this can make a photograph look pretty dramatic or because the person wants you to focus on a specific thing within the photo. You can either let a little bit of color, or even a large amount of color in.

http://www.pxleyes.com/blog/2010/03/50-outstanding-examples-of-selective-color-photography/

Lots of beautiful examples in the link I have posted above. Some are simple, others are more complex. The example I have of mine is pretty simple. I desaturated everything else but brought in just the green rock. Took me all about 30 seconds. So it's not too complex. Some of the pictures in the link have selected color down to tiny details such a leaves and strands of grass, which would take a steady hand so you are not having to keep redoing an object because you keep slipping outside too much. You can also mess around with the hue and saturation of the selected colors to make the pop even more.

http://smashinghub.com/25-beautiful-selective-color-photos.htm

Here are even more examples. I really like the first image from this link because the selected colors are already kind of neutral so they blend into the black and white of the photo pretty well. I also really like the photos that have reflections in them. It's like seeing into two different worlds. The dull black and white above, and the colorful vibrant world through reflection. In order to perform the Selective Color Technique you need photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop. There are other programs you can use as well, and some are probably free. I have never used any other software besides Photoshop so I can not say how other programs would work. This is a pretty neat technique to experiment with though. Try it out!

Portrait Photography

Portrait photography. When people here this they will most like think of photos of peoples faces. Well, it is actually more than that. Portraits can be whole figures, with multiple people. It can also be objects, that symbolize someone, or something. My example is literally just a portrait of a friend's face.

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/10-ways-to-take-stunning-portraits

The above link has some great tips for doing portrait photography. These include:

• Changing your perspective
• Playing with eye contact - looking within frame and looking off camera
• Breaking the rules of composition
• Experiment with light
• Move your subject out of their comfort zone
• Shoot candidly
• Introduce a prop
• Focus on one body part
• Obscure part of your subject
• Take a series of shots

My photography professor actually introduced me to those tips above. This was after my portrait assignment however. Although now when I have friends over to take pictures, I keep such things in my mind now, and think about them often when I go out to take pictures.

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/tips-portrait-photography

http://blog.epicedits.com/2007/12/10/16-inspirational-portrait-photography-techniques/

The above links have even more tips as well.

The ones I myself have experimented with are framed, off center, and unfocused shots. I really like out of focused shots because there is a movement to them. When I look at such shots I kind of drift into a day-dream type of state. That's the best way I can explain it. SOmething I need to do that I always forget is to play around with different angles. I've recently obtained a tripod and I forget that I can move it around. There is a lot you can do with portraits, it just depend on how creative you want to be, or the mood you want to capture.

Vantage Points

My first assignment in my Photo 1 class was to take some photos at different angles and view points. The picture above is one of the many I took. It's nothing really exciting. I do like the nostalgic feeling it have when I look it. Basically the point of the assignment was to take these types of pictures to try and add more movement and drama into the photos. To make them more interesting would be another way of putting it. It's a pretty simple thing to do really. There are even some tools that can help you obtain different vantage points.

• Monopod - Simple yet effective. By fastening your camera onto the end of a monoped or a tripod, or even a long pole that’s fitted with a ball head, you can hold your camera way up the air and get a view over fences, down towards the ground, or in any number of other places that you physically can’t get to.
• Manfrotto Super Clamp (used to be Bogen Super Clamp) - This piece of gear allows you to attach your camera to all sorts of places like vehicles, fences, and other various locations that you could not really take pictures from yourself.
• Pocket Wizard Transceivers - These wireless radio remotes come in pairs, and they allow you to remotely fire your camera’s shutter from quite far away. Depending on battery strength and line of sight, they work anywhere from a few hundred feet to a couple of miles away.

Also not you don’t have to get all of that fancy equipment (most of it is quite expensive). A lot of it would help though depending on the types of vantage points you are trying to get.

http://www.vantagepointimages.com/-/vantagepointimages/galleryindex.asp

The link above has some wonderful examples of vantage point photography. You are only limited by your imagination, and of course how much risk you are willing to take to get that perfect vantage point.

Photo Montages

In my first Photography class, one of my last assignments that semester was to create a photo montage, which is a collection oh photos put into one. There are plenty of interesting ways one could go about doing this. The one I did above is 3 photos. One is a picture of some water, another is a picture of my street, and the last is a picture of the sky. I tried to make a surreal looking image. Water engulfing the street, the sky looking like it's falling. I was pretty happy with the end result. I was probably the only one in my class to approach the assignment like this. Most of the other students did theres by taking multiple pictures of someone and then putting them all in one picture. Not that there is anything wrong with that, some of them turned out really great, better than mine even.

http://weburbanist.com/2009/06/08/the-art-of-superimposition-20-marvelous-photographic-montages/

The link I posted above has some really interesting photographic montages. My favorites would have to be the combination of modern and old photos merged into one. Really gives you a sense of going back in time but still staying in the present. They are very interesting to look at.

http://www.smashingbuzz.com/2010/02/85-photo-montages-with-distinctive-surrealism-by-ben-goossens/

This other link I have posted above has a lot of surreal looking photo montages. Although I think most of these would be considered digital manipulations, I want to say they are basically the same thing, since you have to manipulate the photos digitally in the first place. The time it takes to do such images would depend greatly on how skilled with photoshop you are. I have done such other images myself but no way as near to being of the quality of the pictures in the link. I hope to be able to reach such a skill level in the future.

Landscape Photography

Today I shall talk about Landscape Photography. Landscape can be of all sorts of things, such as beaches, mountains, sand dunes, and much more! You might probably think, "oh, landscapes, those are soe easy anyone can take a picture of a landscape!" This is mostly true, but with some extra equipment you can make your landscape photos even more amazing.

Digital-Photography-School.com has some great tips to really make your landscapes look amazing.

• Maxamize your Depth of Field - Get as much of the scene as you can into your picture. This is done by choosing a small apeture setting.
• Use a tripod - There is really no reason not to use a tripod if you have one. They help to keep your camera still so that you get as clear a picture as possible.
• Look for a focal point - all shots need a focal point so the viewers no what to look at instead of wondering throughout a photo.
• Think about Foregrounds - These can really help to add depth into you landscape photos.
• Consider Sky - Most landscapes will have either a dominate foreground or sky. Unless you have one or the other your shot can end up rather boring.
• Lines - lines can give a sense of depth, scale, and can be a point of interest.
• Capture Movement - Landscapes are almost never still and to capture this movement in an image can add mood and drama.
• Work with Weather - Weather can change at any given point or time. Choosing the right time to shoot is important.
• Work with the "Golden Hours" - take pictures at dawn and dusk. You can get some interesting lighting.
• Think about Horizons - Be sure the image is straight and make sure it is composed properly

That's pretty much it for landscape photography. I will provide some links with some pictures as well as the original link where I found the tipsm as it too contains some pretty amazing landscape photos.

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/11-surefire-tips-for-improving-your-landscape-photography

http://www.jturnerphotography.com/

http://www.outdoor-photos.com/

Macro Photography

Macro photography is one of my favorite forms of photography I like to do. Being able to get up close to a small object and take a picture of it, and have it be blown up to 10, even 50 times it's original size is pretty amazing. It also brings out a lot of detail the object might have. Another thing I like about macro photography is how everything else behind the object is blurred out, so you can just focus in on the object in question. The picture I posted is one of many macro shots that I have. Although this one, as some would say, would be counted as selective focus. I had to get up pretty close to it still for the macro function on my camera to work however.

http://webdesignledger.com/inspiration/40-amazing-examples-of-macro-photography

The above link shows some really good examples of other macro photos. As you can see from what I said earlier, you can capture really amazing details on a subject up close, especially with insects. They have some crazy looking features! The macro feature on most point and shoot cameras work fairly well (which is what I have). However manuals can get different lenses that let you take macro shots even closer as well as allowing for more blur in the background. 50-60 mm range is typically used for small objects. 90-105 mm is the standard focal range to use for insects, flowers, and small objects. And then 150-200 is used for insects and other small animals. There are other things to factor in as well such as depth of field and lighting. All of that of course depends on what kind of macro shot you are trying to take. Happy shooting!

Photography: Painting with light

Painting with light is an interesting thing you can do with photography. It's fun, you can be as creative as you want, and you can really make some amazing looking images. Here you can find some really amazing images of painting with light:

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/01/painting-with-light.html

People think, "oh gosh, that looks so hard!" I was one of those people. It turns out it's actually a fairly simple process. First you get your camera, make sure it's dark enough outside, or you can be in a dark room as well. Now all you have to do is open your shutter all the way (this allows more light to come in). Doing this will allow the camera to not only see the light you have, but also increase the exposure time so that it can record the design you want with your light. Exposure times varies between cameras. Most point and shoot cameras wont have that long of an exposure time like say, a DSLR would. It's no big deal though. My camera has an exposure time of about 20-30 seconds. That's plenty of time for me to at least make a simple design. It's also fun to have more people help you out as you can add even more to the design. The photo at the top of my page is a paint with light that I did as an assignment. It is slightly edited, adjusting some of the colors. I have titled this photo Spirits Within. I was not sure what else I could name it (lol)! Most of the designs I did were of me just randomly waving my cell phone around. I made some Xs some circles, a bunch of squiggles, pretty simple stuff basically. It is an enjoyable thing to try. The possibilities of things you can do is only limited by your creativity and imagination!

Photography in General~

Hello! This is a blog I'm doing for my Digital Writing class. I have chosen the topic of photography because to put it simply, I'm good at it. When you pick up a camera what do you do? You take a picture of course! Photography is a wonderful medium for capturing moments and places that mean something to you. Anyone can pick up a camera and take general pictures. However there are other advanced ways to take pictures. You have things like, depth of field, macro, painting with light, and many other other forms of photography one can look into and do themselves. You can also enhance your photos with software such as adobe photoshop, adobe lightroom and other such programs. My style of photography involves the use a filters which I add in photoshop. Some people would say "oh you should use the original photo because natural is better!" Sometimes that's true. However I dont exactly have a high end camera so the filters really help making my photos look more proffesional. You will see a lot of such photos throughout this blog. Another reason I choose to use filters is because for me they add depth, feeling, emotion. The picture I've used in this blog is a simple picture I took of some clouds. I imported it to photoshop and added retro/old style type filter. It's a bit more colorful and sort of has a nostalgic feel when I look at it. Some may also say my style is repedative as I use a lot of the same filters a lot, but that's just my style and it works for me. That's all for this week. Next week I'll talk about specific styles of photography.