Great Bokeh Photography – It’s All About the Background!
April 30, 2012
What is Bokeh?
In photography bokeh is defined as the blur in the out-of-focus areas of an image. These can be either good or bad aesthetically. Bad, especially if they are distracting. The Fab Web has a great selection of photographs that exhibit ‘good’ bokeh.
Selective focus can enhance your photography. A shallow depth of field is one requirement. There are also filters that can change the shape or appearance of the bokeh in an image, as you’ll see in these examples.
Martin Scorcese: 3D is the Future of Film Technology
April 26, 2012
As readers here know I’ve been shooting 3D still photographs (in one format or another) for almost 20 years. I’m also a fan of (well-done) 3D film.
Recently I’ve attended 3D film technical conferences where I’ve expressed skepticism that 3D film and TV will be the future of those mediums. Now one of the most accomplished and respected American filmmakers of all time, Martin Scorcese begs to differ with my opinion.
So I’m thinking, what the hell does he know? (No, not really). What I’m actually thinking is, hey, I may be wrong.
In his own words:
“There is something that 3-D gives to the picture that takes you into another land and you stay there and it’s a good place to be. . .It’s like seeing a moving sculpture of the actor and it’s almost like a combination of theater and film combined and it immerses you in the story more. I saw audiences care about the people more.”
Photographer Chris Kotsiopoulos: One 24 Hour Day in 360° Panorama
April 21, 2012
OK, there are a lot of great, creative, inventive photographers out there these days. With the rise of digital photography and cameras part of everyone’s cell phones and tablet computers it’s easy to conclude that there are more images being captured today than at any other time in history. And so the competition to make memorable photographs is equally great.
Now here is a fascinating idea, executed superbly: capturing one 24 hour day in a 360° panorama image.
The photographer is Chris Kotsiopoulos and for an explanation of exactly how he achieved this go to his website, here. I think this is simply amazing. Click on image for larger size.
How to Bleach Images in Photoshop from Mac|Life
April 21, 2012
The bleached out color effect is a popular one these days and you may have wondered exactly how this is achieved. This tutorial on the “bleach bypass process” by Rob Lawton from the Mac|Life website shows you how to do it in clear, easy to follow steps.
I’ve been a subscriber to their print magazine since it was called MacAddict and was the first American Mac-centric publication to include a CD-ROM with each issue back in 1996.
The editorial tone is far less fannish and insular these days and more accurately reflects the broad appeal of Apple products to the audience beyond the fanboys. They used to have an inane stick-figure mascot named Max and their reviews used to rate software and products from “Blech” to “Freakin’ Awesome.”
At that time it always seemed to me a mash-up of skate-board kulture and computing. Adults would hide their copies behind an issue of the more mainstream and respectable MacWorld (where New York Times tech columnsit David Pogue got his start).
Today no one needs to hide their copies of Mac|Life; it’s been one of the most successful re-brandings of a print publication in this new century, IMO.
Bacon Roses
April 20, 2012
I was speaking with a neighbor the other day about how my religion prohibits exercise – hail Satan! – and has as its primary sacraments Bacon and Cheesecake (the finest in the world comes, of course, exclusively from Junior’s on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn).
Later that same day I was perusing pages on the InterWebs and came across this photo (below).
More proof, as if any was needed, that there’s nothing that can’t be improved by adding bacon. . .
Mandy Barker’s Amazing Environmental Photography
March 27, 2012
The image above is by photographer Mandy Barker, from a series called Snow Flurry where the objects in the picture are plastic waste that has been collected from beaches around the world. I find these images beautiful and haunting as images. But the knowledge that they are representative of the disdain in which we treat our planet, quite literally trashing it, gives these photos incredible power. Barker is doing important and compelling work and I urge you to check out more of it on her website.
Here’s a list, as provided by Barker, of the contents of this image. . .
Includes: draught piece, padlock, industrial mask, bread tie, margarine tub, cake decoration pillar, paracetamol packaging, syringe, oil cap, plunger, paintbrush handle, hard hat, dummy, fishing reel, bobbin, pump dispenser, horse’s leg, garden furniture chair leg, tooth pic, propeller, glasses arm, flask lid, fire alarm casing, tie hanger, ceiling rose, ball of tape, football, clothing hook, hot drinks lid, plate, sewing reel, party mask, shard, tile spacer, pen top, aerosol nozzle, hat, toothpaste tube, tops, caps, lids, balloon valve, washing peg, rivet, pipe bracket, knife, fork, spoon, lolly stick, arrow, sucker, handle, milk capsule, straw, egg holder, firework holder, coat hanger, balloon, drinks stirrer, carton, 90 degree angle, tent peg, medicine tablet lid, toilet deodorizing holder, tube, plumbing flange, seal, sweet container, Tic Tac lid, comb, wheel, link, hoop, wrist band, thread, bottle, nut, football cone, screw, face mask, tray, ring pull, plug, shower rail hook, pan, steering wheel, Frisbee, bubble blower.
Vincent Versace’s Five Tips for Great Black-and-White Photos
March 26, 2012
“Black and white is the best way to learn photography, and in my experience, it’s the photography we all go back to. If I had my druthers, I’d never shoot another color photograph as long as I live.” – Vincent Versace
The New York Times’ Gadgetwise column published this outstanding article on Black-and-White Photography. I would also highly recommend Mr. Versace’s books, including his latest From Oz to Kansas: Almost Every Black and White Technique Known to Man to be released in July, 2012:
Of course, I haven’t read it yet myself, I’m still working out the kinks in my Time Travel Machine. (If only Doc Technical could get that dab-blamed water-pump to turn over!). But I think you can trust this 4-time nominee to the Photoshop Hall of Fame. His previous best-seller, Welcome to Oz was Shutterbug magazine’s “Best How To of the Year.”
New York Times reviews the revolutionary new Lytro Camera
March 26, 2012
We’ve written about the amazing Lytro camera before – the first ever to capture multiple planes of depth in a single image and adjustable after the fact. Now the New York Times has a review and an inside look at the mechanics of this revolutionary device. I submit this as evidence that occasionally there is, in fact, something new under the sun.
Shorpy Historical Photo Archive
March 26, 2012
Coney Island, New York, circa 1905. “Whirl of the Whirl, Luna Park.” 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Birmingham AL
Boston
Buffalo NY
Charleston SC
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Coney Island
Detroit
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
New Orleans
New York City
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Richmond
San Francisco
Savannah
St. Louis
Syracuse
Toledo
Vicksburg
Washington, D.C.
This is leading
And photo galleries including
This is leading
4×5 Kodachromes
Animals
Aviation
Bathing Girls
Cars & Trucks
Civil War
Colorized Photos
Factories
Florida History
Kids
Kitchens
Mining
Pretty Girls
Railroads
Streetcars
Service Stations
Sports
WPA Posters
World War II
The History of Digital Photography – Extreme Tech
January 12, 2012
As the news that Kodak may disappear as an iconic American brand is in the financial headlines these days, I thought it was worth highlighting a history of digital photography put together by Sebastian Anthony of ExtremeTech.
Since Kodak brought the first digital SLR to market in 1991 (at a retail price of $30,000) it’s hard for an outside observer, like me, to understand how they could have fallen so far behind the curve in a market that they could’ve owned.
Although some companies never do seem to get the memo that says, Adapt or Die.
In fact, a close friend of mine – a skilled amateur photographer who worked for a professional film processing lab – told me back in 2000 that film would never be replaced by digital, due to the relative poor resolution of the then-current crop of digital point and shoots. Today, he shoots digitally (of course) and the company he worked for no longer exists.
For me this is an example of how even knowledgable professionals are shockingly poor at making predictions in their own fields. The views of most pundits are not any more accurate than a coin flip. (Except, of course, for this guy I know who picks stocks. He knows how to beat the Street. See, he’s got this system. . .)