Busy Days

Many of you will have noticed that I haven’t been writing anywhere near as often as I used to. There’s a very simple explanation for that … wait for it .. UNI. Between Organic Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry and Physical Evidence, it’s hard to find time to write these days.


Lucky for me, I still find a small amount of time to get inspired and take the occasional photo. In fact as I’m writing this I’m watching the Wallabies vs Springboks rugby match (Steyn is a magician out there). The world champs are really flexing their muscles right now.

I won’t reveal too much, but there’s some exciting movement in the photographic plans at the moment which involves some possible new equipment along with some other stuff that could lead to more shoots and more work. On a side note, I’m writing & posting this using Windows Live Writer which is surprisingly intuitive and easy to use.

Oh and how rude of me … I introduce my brothers Chuck and Cam

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Small Planet

On August 24 2006, Pluto was officially demoted as a planet. Pluto is now known as a "dwarf planet", which is in itself an oxymoron (planets aren't exactly dwarfs). So I've decided to make my own planet, still just experimenting so hopefully I'll have some better ones up in the near future.

It's quite simple to do as long as you have the correct images to start with. I took a 360 degree panorama at Homebush Bay (bird sanctuary), merged the lot on photoshop, then used the polar co-ordinates filter. After that all you have to do is clean it up a little bit with the clone stamp and healing brush and you're done! More in depth tutorial can be found here.

You might also notice my font is different, many users will know that the basic windows fonts don't provide too many cool fonts to work with. Theres a website (click here) where you can download fonts, then simply drag them into your fonts folder in control panel to install them. The one I used this time is called Waltograph (actually looks pretty similar to what the name suggests).

Like I said I'll be workin on more stereographic projections, but in the meantime you can have a browse at this flickr pool dedicated to these images.

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Photomatix Pro 3 (finally got rid of 2.5)

I finally decided to update my HDR software. The one I've been using since I discovered HDR was Photomatix Pro 2.5, I now use Photomatix Pro 3.13 (or something like that). The differences are subtle, a slightly modified UI (User Interface), and the menus are in language that the layman can understand (more or less).

To understand why computer generated HDR images are necessary, we have to get a little more technical. To start with, a camera with a higher dynamic range allows you to capture more detail in the highlights and shadows of scenes. When you look back at your images, you may notice blown out highlights (that stay white no matter what you do), and dark shadows (that stay black no matter what you do). A camera with a higher dynamic range will actually give you some detail in those parts.

This is getting more and more important as a lot more people (from a wider market base) are buying DSLRs. Traditional film has a dynamic range of approx 15 stops, the dynamic range for my EOS 50D is approx 8.5 stops. To get around this massive shortage of dynamic range, us digital users can do 2 things:

1) Live with it (and you actually can ... most of the time)

2) Take a few photos. Underexposed, correct exposure, overexposed (doesn't need to be in that order)

Once you have taken those photos, a program like photomatix can be used to blend all of them. After minor adjustments, we end up with a photo like the one above. There is detail in every single part of the photo (where there is supposed to be). At 100% view on the original edited photo, the detail is astonishing.

Apart from getting an incredible amount of detail, you can get quite a nice effect on the photos as well. Give it a try.

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Why we love panos

Panorama photos have always held a spell over me. When I first saw them, I couldn't see what the big deal is. If anything I thought panos were stupid, they're long, odd shaped, hard to frame, and have no standard in sizing.

Soon after the purchase of my first SLR, the EOS 400D, I realised the limitations of taking a single photo to capture a landscape. When working with lines such as the horizon and the contours of mountains, valleys & coastlines, it is natural to utilise a wide format frame.

This technique in photography have become such widespread that some photographers have dedicated themselves to panoramic photos, Ken Duncan is a well known example. What makes him so well known is not only his dedication to panoramic photos, but his style of image processing after taking the photo. In this day and age, an artist's post processing style is as unique as his signature. All successful photographers have a fine tuned way of processing their images that are instantly recognisable by those in the field.

Post processing has become especially important as almost anybody mildly interested in photography is likely to own an SLR. No longer will resolution and turn around time separate the amateurs and the pros, the market has become much more diverse and it will come down to how well you process your photos that will set you apart.

Me, I'm still working it out :P

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Undiscovered

It's true when people say that you can make a good photo out of nothing. With the right timing, right inspiration and the right processing you can do a lot with some very ordinary photos. The pano above is a little different to what I normally do, I tend to be conservative and keep my photos looking as real as possible. In this case, I went crazy with the levels adjustments, masks, and colours ... and ... I like it. If not for the moment of madness, this pano would NOT catch your eye the way it did (don't pretend it didn't) and you wouldn't even take a second look at it.

This HDR is another example, the subject is more interesting, but there isn't a whole lot to it. After processing in Photomatix Pro, I played around with the sliders in CS3 until I created an effect that I was happy with. It's all about trial & error, and when you finally get the right blend of elements you'll be very surprised with what you've created.

Both photos were taken in Vietnam when I was on holidays earlier. I tend to dig back at my old photos in the hard drive and find undiscovered potential like these two photos. To the photographers out there that snap as much as I do (more than 1000/month), then keep them safe in an external hard drive ... keep looking back as much as you can, every now and then you'll be rewarded.

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ORIGIN

Many of my readers are from Australia, so most of you will also know that State of Origin II just went by. Here are some other things that you may or may not know:

- NSW had yet another horrible start (18-0)

- NSW had yet another great 3rd quarter of the game (caught up to 18-14)

- QLD somehow managed to score the last try again ...

and in doing so made the scoreline a lot less respectable (24-14)

- The Blatchy Blues wigs are ridiculously itchy

- Wolfman had a shocker of a 1st half

- Jarryd Hayne had a legendary 1st half

- Jonathan Thurston is still a wanker

- The Maroons secured their 4th straight Origin series and made history

"I don't know what to say ... I'm shattered" said Blues Captain Kurt Gidley. Well Kurt, as easy as it is to point the blame at the captain, the coach, the selectors ... the whole team needed to put their best foot forward, and only a few answered the call.

With all that aside, being a part of the 80 000 at the near sellout stadium was definitely the best $60 I've ever spent. Being there at a packed stadium (see 1st photo) is easily the best way to support your team, the atmosphere alone is worth it. Other sporting events/teams I would love to hit up include:

- Staples Centre (Lakers home game)

- Madison Square Gardens (Knicks home)

- NCAA Final Four

- Old Trafford (Man U)

- FIFA world cup finals (anywhere)

About the photos, both were taken with my Panasonic Lumix LX-3. 1st photo was a 4 photo stitch using Photoshop CS3. 2nd photo was a 12 photo stitch using Photoshop CS3, and that explains the distortion that you see in the photo.

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Close to the end

less than 24hrs until freedom. Free from uni, lab reports, assignments, exams, pracs for a month. Doesn't sound like much, but I've been looking forward to this for a LONG time. Hopefully I'll find the time to do more shooting, work some extra shifts, scan some of my old photos as digital media etc. There's plenty to do, and very little time, but I'll make the most of it.

While I was thinking about the things I'll be doing in these upcoming holidays, I rummaged through the external HD where I keep all my photos and found an old favourite.

This is a photo taken from UTS Tower level 27 (most people will know UTS tower as one of the ugliest yet iconic buildings in Sydney) facing towards Central station. It was also back when I was still using my EOS 400D. I had to reprocess the colours/tones/crop/HDR as I've developed a new style of editing since. Overall, it's not the greatest photo, its not the sharpest, and doesn't show a whole lot of detail either ... but I just really like this photo, and I don't know why.

As I write this I should really be studying for my CSI exam tomorrow morning, so I'll keep it short.

Handy photo hint: Right when you think you can't get a new perspective of the city (or anything landscape), get up high (really high), and you'll get some unexpected results.

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From the past

I've decided to continue on my HDR craze, this was done using auto-exposure-bracketing (AEB) handheld. On occasions where there's a fair bit of shade and a strong sun blaring down, HDR is often the way to go in terms of getting detail in every part of the photo.

This is a picture of an old Vietnamese war tank, similar to the Type 59 main battle tanks used by the People's Republic of China. And ofcourse, it's nowhere near as gangster as Master P's "No Limit" gold tank seen in the music video "make em say uhh".

With everything going on in the world, so many people are saying "you only hear about what they want you to hear" (about the war). Which is true ... what's more true, is that we are also only seeing what the media giants want us to see, in terms of photos from the war. Sure there have been some graphic and confronting photos in the press, but I'm sure that what we're seeing is tame compared to what's hidden from us.

Of course, people are saying that they WANT to see these photos, and they WANT to hear the untold stories. In my opinion, they only think they want to know, and they're only saying they want the truth because they know they won't get it. People are going to come to me on facebook, on msn, on twitter, text msg (whatever) and say I don't know what I'm talking about. I don't blame you, because this is a pretty polarising issue ... and I'll be the first to admit that I'm curious to know what's being hidden from the public.

I'll even admit that at times I'm outraged with the exaggerated emphasis that the media places on certain issues, Matt John's "scandal" for example, Matty Johns took the fall for EVERYONE in the Shark's organisation, and EVERYONE let him fall.

We all know that the media doesn't always have truth on its agenda, they love rage and controversy ... and why wouldn't you if it was making you $$$. They place an overemphasis on some things, while completely burying other issues under the carpet. Sure it's easy to blame people like James Packer and other media giants, but we should all have a good look in the mirror. Because it's US that fuels their drive, they publish things for US, and whether you like it or not we actually DO want to read that crap. Without us, there is no them ... what's in music if there is no one to appreciate it?

But as always, feel free to read MY crap, and wonder what photo I'm going to publish next, along with what photo's I'm hiding from all of you :)

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Pano Madness

Within photography there's a very minute niche market. A lot of people attempt it, most people play around with it, very few people are known for it. Yet whenever we talk about landscape photography, panoramas always come into the equation.

Most people will think about panoramas as long sweeping photos of landscape, and done mainly to fit more into a photo. And that's true ... in most cases. But the real reason behind panoramas (for me personally), is to increase detail in my photos. It doesn't make sense when I first say it, but it'll come to you eventually ... I promise. For example, my blog from a couple of days ago, that photo looks more or less like an ordinary photo with ordinary proportions. In reality it was 9 photos stitched into one ... 9 photos at 10mp each theoretically gives you a 90mp photo (in a perfect world). We all know that doesn't happen, but you get the idea and you can really see how detail is increased just by stitching photos together.

The panorama above IS a traditional panorama, but I did it to get sharper detail in the background. I quite like how the row of trees separate the peacefulness inside the area and the complete chaos on the outside (photographically speaking and in reality).

So my children, go forth and stitch up your photos, you'll be surprised with the results. But ofcourse, I can't end this post without mentioning the master of panoramics ... and he is indeed Ken Duncan.

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Behind every cloud is another cloud

"Clouds come rushing to my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add colour to my sky"

~Rabindranath Tagore

This quote by Tagore is the perfect caption to this photo. He was a poet, visual artist, playwright, novelist, educationist, social reformer, nationalist, business manager and composer. To top it off he has also won the Nobel Prize in Literature (1913). In the last post when I talked about leaving behind a legacy, this is the type of legacy I was talking about. Only problem, as accomplished as Tagore is, today was the first time I heard about him. There are a vast amount of deeds that go unnoticed in everyday life, and similarly there are a million photo opportunities that are brushed aside.

This photo was taken using the newly acquired Panasonic LX-3, shot using the sunset mode (I wanted to see what these modes could do), then processed the RAW files in Photoshop CS3. Originally I took 9 photos (3x3 matrix arrangement) and stiched the lot together, then cropped and processed.

Hundreds of people must walk past this scene everyday, how many do you think stopped to appreciate it, let alone take a photo.

Keep an eye out

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