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Archive for February, 2016

Field Test: The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 IV in Mexico

29 Feb

A year of field tests have taken DPR Editor Barney Britton and series director Eric Becker into some challenging shooting environments, so for a change of pace, at the end of last year the pair took the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 IV to the sun-soaked Yucatán peninsula. There they put Sony’s pocket compact through all of the rigor that any traveler might – from shooting in underwater caves to selfies amidst historic Mayan ruins. Watch the video and see Sony’s travel cam in its natural environment.


This is sponsored content, created with the support of Sony. What does this mean?

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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3 Tips to Maximize Your Road Trip Photos

29 Feb

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Road trips have been hailed as one of the greatest pastimes ever, and something that everyone should do at least once in their lifetime. It is a great way to experience a lot in a short span of time, and as a photographer, there will be many opportunities and moments awaiting your perspective. Sometimes preserving your creative spin in the midst of all the new discoveries, can become sensory overload and feel overwhelming.

Here are three tips that can help you make better photographs on your journey and maximize your road trip.

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1. Plan, plan … plan?

Most successful photo sessions involve a level of planning, this is no different for road trips. The plan does not have to be detailed, it can start out with some basics, such as final destination and must-see places/events, then you determine what should happen daily. Research your routes, note interesting things along the way, and make a priority list. Keep in mind that when traveling you are subject to the unforeseen, such as inclement weather, or places inaccessible for one reason or another, so be ready to switch to Plan B.

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As a light chaser, planning should include knowing when the most flattering light will hit your must-see locations or subjects (e.g. sunrise or sunset), and getting there on time. Thankfully there are now many smartphone apps that will help you plan for the golden hours, work out directions, as well as drive times (and distance) between destinations.

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The last part of planning is building flexibility into your days. Sometimes even the best laid plans end up with hiccups and delays, and you still need to make the most of it. The main objective of any road trip is to have fun, so build in a little flexibility, and who knows, you could find something worth exploring, or maybe you will be forced to get creative when you least expect it.

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2. Gearing up

So with your destination(s) planned, it’s time to figure out what gear you need. The last thing you want to do is lug around everything you own, in fact, quite the opposite – you will want to travel light. This is why knowing your destination is key to packing. Will you be driving through amazing scenery? If yes, then you may want to pack a wide-angle lens. If wildlife is your focus, you may decide on a telephoto zoom, which is also great for capturing portraits of people in their natural environment, without being too obtrusive.

Note: Good advice, when it comes to portraits, asking permission is a nice approach.

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It all depends on what your end game is, and what lens (or two) you will be using the most. There will always be regrets over what you left behind, such as that one photo that would have been awesome if you had packed a fish-eye or macro lens – but think about the extra weight, and whether of not it’s justified for the duration of the trip.

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If you really want to travel light, a mid-range zoom is a great compromise and a good broad spectrum lens to have during your journey, so research your surroundings and decide if this could work for you. A tripod is a safe bet if you plan to do any night photography, but use the same rule and take it only if you need it.

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3. Road trip story

When you shoot with a story in mind, it can make your photos take on a life of their own. Are you documenting something specific along the way, such as small towns or diners, breath-taking landscapes, or the road itself?

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There are many different ways to tell a story, and your objective and style will dictate the way you tell yours. If your destination includes places that are prone to lots of tourists – decide how this fits into your vision. Do you make them a part of the photo (i.e. use their presence for a sense of scale) or would you prefer the location desolate (which probably means rising early to beat the rush). What story are you trying to tell?

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Conclusion

Road trips are fun, and are a great way to make memories with hundreds of photo opportunities. Planning goes a long way, and will help you determine which gear to travel with, and what photos will make up your story line. So whether you are journeying to a National Park or just venturing out to a new place – a journey that spans two weeks or just two hours – know before you go, have lots of fun, and make awesome photo memories.

What other important tips would you add for fellow photography road trippers?

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The post 3 Tips to Maximize Your Road Trip Photos by Nisha Ramroop appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

29 Feb

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

‘I don’t know, Rishi’, I said in the press room, over warm coffee from a warm can. ‘I don’t know if I should do another ‘things we found that had been cut in half’ slideshow.’ Rishi was silent. I went on: ‘Is it even funny? And there aren’t that many things at the show this year which have been cut in half. Mostly I’ve just seen things which are whole. I don’t know whether I should do it’. 

Rishi looked up. There was pain in his eyes. Confusion. The confusion of a child who’s starting to suspect that Santa doesn’t exist but isn’t ready to believe it.

His normally whisper-quiet voice rose slightly. ‘You have to do it’ he said, almost pleading. His voice became louder still – ‘You have to do it. Not because it’s funny – Barney, listen to me. It’s not funny. It has never been funny. But that’s not why you do it. You do it because it’s tradition.’

‘Dammit, Rishi’ I said, straightening in my chair and in the same motion, banging my knees against the oddly low desk, ‘You’re right. And stop yelling, you’re freaking me out’. 

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

Could you disappoint this face? I couldn’t.

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

So, without further ado, here’s a selection of things we found at CP+ which had been cut in half. Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride*

First up is Nikon’s brand new flagship D5. Capable of taking pictures very quickly of things moving even more quickly, the D5 is as tough as week-old sushi and entirely sealed against dust and moisture incursion. Not this one though – why not? Because this one has been cut in half. Water and dust can get right in, all over the place.  

*It won’t be. 

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

With pro-level DSLRs being cut in half left right and center in previous years, I think Ricoh has been feeling a bit left out. In fact, I suspect that this is one reason for the much anticipated release of a proper Pentax full-frame camera, the K-1. 

The K-1 is a 36MP full-frame camera with a host of solid core photographic features including in-camera stabilization, a revamped AF system, support for legacy Pentax K-mount lenses and little LED lights hidden in clever places all over the camera body. The rear LCD is articulated, using an innovative and unusual strut and hinge design, and the shifting sensor can be used to create full-color resolution exposures, correct wonky horizons and even track stars for night shots.

This K-1 can’t do any of that though, because it’s been cut in half. This one is literally useless. 

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

An early prototype of the K-1, before Ricoh’s engineers realised that using clear plastic would cause serious light-leak issues. 

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

Here’s a blast from the past – a Nikon F from the early 1960s, cut in half good and proper. A period of huge social change, the 1960s saw revolutions on several fronts – sexual, social, political and photographic. This was the decade of TTL metering, removable prisms, wideangle lenses and motor-drives. Before the 1960s, the idea that a professional camera could be displayed like this – bisected, with its delicate parts exposed to public view – would have been unthinkable.

How much has changed. Yet how much remains the same. 

This Nikon F could be yours for only  ¥248,000 (~$ 2200). Superglue not included. 

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

In many ways a more innovative camera than the Nikon F, Canon’s F1 (which came along a little later) proved itself a solid, reliable workhorse for Canon FD photographers in the 1970s. With TTL metering built in (not via an optional metering head, as with the Nikon F) an optional (and insanely noisy) 3.5fps motordrive and a faster maximum shutter speed, the F1 was popular among sports and action photographers.

There’s no way this one is being used to photography any sports or action though. Not only are the mercury cells that powered the F1 unavailable these days, this camera has been cut in half. It’d just fall sideways off the tripod.

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

Sony had a big booth at this year’s CP+ show, and as well as a new camera, the 24MP a6300, the company was also showing off three new ‘G Master’ lenses. Designed to cover the full-frame imaging area of the company’s a7-series mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, the new 24-70mm F2.8, 70-200mm F2.8 and 85mm F1.4 are the most convincing pro-level optics yet released for Sony’s FE mount.

Here’s the new FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS. Comprised of a remarkable 32 elements in 18 groups, elements include one double-side aspherical and one extreme aspherical element, plus ‘Nano AR’ coating. This particular lens is even more complex, being made up of 46 elements in 36 groups. Because it’s been cut in half. Bonkers! 

Read more about Sony’s new G Master lenses

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

Oooh, look at all that lovely glass. This is the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM portrait prime, sliced wide open for all to see. This lens comprises 11 elements in 8 groups, and features a new XA (extreme aspherical) element which has been rendered even more aspherical in this lens by being cut in half. 

Read more about Sony’s new G Master lenses

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

The third lens in Sony’s new G Master trio is the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM, which is intended as a standard zoom for Sony’s flagship a7R II. Our intial impressions of image quality from this lens are very encouraging, but it’s the Direct Drive SSM autofocus motor which has us most impressed.

When paired with an a7R II this lens acquires focus – and can continue to focus on moving subjects – extremely quickly. We didn’t get the chance to try out the performance of this particular sample, but we’re pretty confident that it won’t be great. After all, it’s been cut in half. 

Read more about Sony’s new G Master lenses

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

Sensors come in all manner of shapes and sizes – actually no, that’s not really true, but they come in all manner of sizes at least. From full-frame on the Sony booth to Micro Four Thirds at Panasonic, here’s the company’s new Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4.0-6.3 ASPH Power OIS. Optically much simpler than Sony’s 70-200mm, the Leica 100-400mm is equivalent to a 200-800mm lens when attached to a Micro Four Thirds body.

It has has one aspherical, one UED, and two ‘regular’ ED elements, as well as a nine-bladed circular aperture. Or it would, if it hadn’t been cut in half. We didn’t get the chance to shoot with this sample yet but we’re pretty sure it’s going to give some very ugly bokeh. 

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

Here’s the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 300mm F4 IS Pro, which offers an equivalent focal length of 600mm in full-frame terms. This lens has impressed us with its sharpness, durability and relatively light weight. This one is even lighter than normal, but much less resistant to the elements. It’s been cut in half, you see. Very silly.  

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

When it comes to cutting things in half, Zeiss is one of the best companies out there. And as usual, the Zeiss stand was a positive orgy of bisected primes, split zooms and half-naked wide-angles. Here’s the company’s Zeiss Milvus 21mm F2.8, which retails for almost $ 2000 normally. This one isn’t worth even half of that amount though. Off-center performance (on one side only) is terrible, because it’s been cut in half.

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

Hey, remember the tiny, cute little Voigtländer VM 40mm F2.8 Heliar we wrote about last year?

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

It looks even tinier and cuter when it’s been cut in half. 

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

Less small but still pretty cute is Tamron’s new SP 90mm F2.8 Di VC USD 1:1 Macro, the latest version in a line of very well-regarded 90mm macro lenses from Tamron stretching back decades. Weather-sealed with a built-in vibration correction stabilization system we’re really looking forward to seeing how this new macro prime performs. Not even Vibration Correction will get sharp results out of this one though though – this one has been cut in half. 

CP+ 2016: Things we found that had been cut in half

An etymological diagram of the human brain, cut in half. These are the literal translations of latin terms for the various brain regions. After 4 days at CP+, Rishi and I are mostly creating content from our ‘Little Brain’ area, although my Slime Gland has been giving me trouble. It’s probably just the jet-lag.

We’ve got more content lined up for you over the next few days, including some more technical analysis of Nikon’s D5 and D500, and interviews with senior executives from Canon, Nikon, Ricoh and more. Thanks for reading and goodbye (for now) from Yokohama. 

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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First “Drawn in Place” Architecture Made with a 3D-Printing Pen

29 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

3d printed architecture pen

A group of students from the University of Tokyo have created the world’s first work of 3D pen-drawn architecture, extruding thermoplastic filament to generate a structurally-stable arch installation.

3d pen modeling student

A digital tracking system helped builders connect rods with extruded supports, generating a lattice-like system of interconnected trusses (resulting in a kind of lightweight, smaller-scale space frame). The combination of rigid rods and fluid connectors helps the whole structural network, providing tension as well as compression capabilities.

3d pen in use

The handheld device enabling the extrusions operates much like a hot glue gun or static 3D printer, heating the constituent material and making it malleable before it hardens upon deployment. Unlike large-scale printers, this approach enables minute on-site work by anyone trained to use the machine, reducing costs and complexity.

3d connected network structure

“Technology has traditionally been used to automate and replace human labour,” design team member Kevin Clement, said in an interview with Dezeen. “The issue with this approach is that it fails to take advantage of human intuition during fabrication. We believe our approach can bridge the current dichotomy between machine and human-made production.”

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Out Cold: 12 Closed & Abandoned Dairy Queen Stores

29 Feb

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Chill out, soft-serve ice cream fans, these 12 abandoned Dairy Queen stores aren’t typical of the 75-year-old chain’s 4,000+ locations worldwide.

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Founded in June of 1940, Dairy Queen has carved out a viable, sustainable, and for the most part successful niche in the fast, er, “fan food” industry. Take it from Warren Buffett – the legendary investor’s Berkshire Hathaway holding company has owned International Dairy Queen Inc outright since 1998.

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Though abandoned by Dairy Queen, the chain’s original location on 501 N. Chicago St. in Joliet, IL still stands thanks to its 2010 designation as a city landmark. Originally built in 1895, the building was a DQ until the early 1950s – subsequent tenants included a lawn-mower repair business, a furniture store, a motorcycle shop and a plumber. Since 2007 the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God has dispensed The Lord’s message at the historic location, presumably accompanied by chilled communion wafers.

More Like Ender

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“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here…” the hope of enjoying some fan food (not fast food), that is. Credit Flickr user haymarketrebel with the above photo of a closed and abandoned Dairy Queen in Tustin, CA snapped on November 20th of 2013.

Grilled, Chilled, Killed

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Traditional fixtures of small-town America, larger and more restaurant-style Dairy Queen Grill & Chill stores began to appear in 2001. The above store, located in Savannah, GA sports the revised corporate logo that debuted in 2007.

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Too big to fail? Nuh uh: Flickr user C-Bunny snapped the shuttered store in April of 2011 and noted the presence of “Closed for Renovation” and “Notice of Bankruptcy” signs plastered to the glass drive-thru window. Which is it, DQ… why not both?

Stuckey’s to be You

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Flickr user Steven Wilson (ezeiza) has the hots for Dairy Queen: his dedicated online album features over 140 photos and counting! Wilson included but a single abandoned DQ; a combination Stuckey’s/Dairy Queen store in Lindsborg, KS that judging by the overgrown landscaping has been shut for some time.

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Out Cold 12 Closed Abandoned Dairy Queen Stores

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CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

29 Feb

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

Attendance is up at this year’s CP+ show in Yokohama Japan, and that’s partly thanks to new products from some of the biggest camera manufacturers, including Nikon. We’re at the show, where large crowds are gathering around Nikon’s booth to get their hands on the new DL-series compacts, and two new DSLRs, the D5 and D500. 

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

Here’s the new D5, Nikon’s new flagship FX format DSLR. Built around a new 20.8MP full-frame CMOS sensor, Nikon claims the D5 to offer leading high ISO performance due to color filter array tweaks that allow the sensor to capture more light than before. The D5 also features a newly-developed EXPEED 5 image processor. This powerful processor is necessary to provide continuous shooting at 14fps and 4K video capture.

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

The D5 features a new autofocus system with 153 AF points, 99 of which are cross-type. All points focus down to -3EV. Only 55 points are user-selectable, but that’s OK: in AF-C, Nikon’s trustworthy 3D tracking system will automatically select the right point for you as it tracks your initially selected subject. And it’s more reliable than you might think.

Here’s why: the camera’s metering sensor has doubled in resolution compared to the 91k-pixel sensor in the D4s, to 180k. The increased resolution makes a big difference in the camera’s ability to identify and follow a subject you initiate focus on. It even means that face detection now prioritizes eyes during viewfinder shooting (you’ll literally see the camera automatically select an AF point over a person’s eye in Auto Area mode), and continues to follow them no matter where they move to within the frame – even at 12 fps. 

Frankly, we’ve never quite seen anything like it.

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

CompactFlash media has been around a long time, and slowly, other formats are emerging which may ultimately replace it. Canon’s new Canon EOS-1D X Mark II features twin card slots for CF and CFast, but Nikon has chosen a different route (and different media) offering two versions of the D5, one with support for twin CF cards (shown here) and one with dual XQD cards. XQD is capable of greater data throughput but for now, the cards are pricey, and lack the familiarity (and ubiquity) of CF cards and card readers.  

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

Nikon’s circular screw-in eyecups have been a feature of its professional SLRs for decades, but the D5 features a distinctly Canon-like removable eyepiece, which can be replaced with various forthcoming viewfinder accessories – details are currently a bit vague. One thing that we did learn, however, is that once it has been removed, this eyepiece is very difficult indeed to get back on

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

Ethernet, USB 3.0, HDMI and a microphone jack are just some of the D5’s many I/O ports. Few will be routinely used by the average enthusiast, but this is a camera built for the many and various needs of professional photographers in various fields. 

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

As such, the D5 is built like a very nicely sculpted brick. Fully weather-sealed and manufactured to the highest standard that Nikon can manage, the D5 is designed to withstand heavy professional use for many years.  

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

Next up is perhaps the most keenly-awaited camera (at least among our readers) of recent years. The D500 is Nikon’s long-awaited replacement for the venerable D300S. We thought the day would never come, but here it is. At 20MP, the D500 offers lower resolution than the D7200, but an altogether higher quality of build and a deeper feature and performance set. It’s also the first DX camera to offer button illumination.

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

Key to this feature set is autofocus. The D500 uses the same AF system as the D5, but because its sensor is smaller, the AF array covers more of the frame. Almost all of it, horizontally. This – plus the 1.5X crop factor of the APS-C format sensor, makes it very attractive for sports and wildlife photography. And a maximum frame-rate of 10 fps doesn’t hurt.

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

Although not quite as bulletproof-feeling as the D5, the D500 is without doubt a ‘pro’ camera and one that we suspect will find its way into many professional photographers’ hands. It’s a great second camera to a D4 or D5, but also makes an attractive ‘long lens’ body for anyone shooting a full-frame Nikon system.

Like the D5, the D500’s autofocus system seems to be spookily capable of tracking subjects around the frame (‘3D tracking’), even in our limited use of the camera up to this point. It can even do so effectively at its maximum 10 fps frame rate, no doubt aided by the faster processor and the same high-resolution 180k-pixel RGB metering sensor that’s in the D5. We’re hoping to be able to shoot with a final shipping sample in the next few weeks. 

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

The D5 and D500 both replace previous cameras, but the DL range is all-new. Nikon released three DL-series compacts at CP+, the DL24-85, DL18-50 and DL24-500. All three are built around 20MP 1″-type CMOS sensors (probably the same sensor used in the 1 J5), and the model names denote the equivalent lens ranges of the cameras. 

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

The reason behind this, Nikon explained to us, is that the company wants people to buy the cameras as if they were shopping for lenses. So someone who needs an 18-50mm lens might reach for the DL18-50, while someone looking for ultimate flexibility might reach for the DL24-500.

CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts

The DL-series is aimed specifically at DLSR users who want a smaller second (and third, and maybe forth) camera. The question of where this leaves the slightly stagnant-looking 1 system remains open. We asked Nikon but didn’t get a definitive response. Clearly, executives are keeping future product strategy on the DL…

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Tips to Help You Start a Successful Photo Blog

29 Feb

As you learn more about using your camera, and start taking beautiful pictures, you might also want a way to share them with the rest of the world. There are many social networking platforms that are ideal for this sort of thing like: Instagram, Flickr, Google Photos, Tumblr, and Facebook, along with hundreds more.

However, one of the most popular, and effective ways, to share your pictures is a simple, humble, tried-and-true blog. Even though blogs are sort of like grandpas in our modern internet age, there’s a reason they have stuck around for more than two decades: they’re intuitive, easy to set up, and they allow you to have full control over your content. Many photographers enjoy using blogs because of their flexibility and customizability, and if you want to spent a bit of money for a dedicated blog platform like Squarespace, or a self-hosted WordPress installation, you can get even more creative.

If you are thinking about pursuing this route there there are some things you need to consider before setting up your own photo blog.

There are many sites that let you build photo blogs, several of which do it for free.

There are many sites that let you build photo blogs, several of which are free.

Know why you are doing a blog

This first point seems kind of obvious, but a lot of photographers find their blogs stalling out, and gathering dust after a few months, because they did not define their purpose for doing the blog when they first began. Many people start blogs because they just want to share random pictures, but if you want a viable long-term blogging solution, you’re going to need something more.

Are you starting a photo blog to get your name out there, and generate sales leads (potential customers)? Do you want to make a mark in your community? Do you want to simply post photos you think are interesting? Whatever your reason for doing a photo blog, it’s important to make sure you at least have one, in the first place. If you have never done a photo blog, then it’s likely you are doing it for personal reasons, such as trying to learn and grow as a photographer. That is an outstanding goal, and one that has helped many other bloggers, become much better at photography as well.

Once you know precisely why you are doing your blog, it will serve as a guide for everything you post. Brandon Stanton started the well-known Humans of New York blog with a specific purpose: to photograph 10,000 people living in New York City. This helped him have a sense of purpose and direction when taking and posting photos, and doing the same thing can greatly benefit you as well. If you cannot explicitly state why you are doing a blog, it is much more likely to gather virtual dust after a short time, and any readers you do manage to pick up, will possibly stop investing their time in it as well.

One of the first pictures I ever posted to my blog. It's not even an interesting photo but I was just starting out and can look back on this to see how much I have learned since then.

One of the first pictures I ever posted to my blog. It’s not even an interesting photo, but I was just starting out, and can look back on this to see how much I have learned since then.

In 2008 the web analytics firm Technorati found that roughly 95% of the blogs it tracked, went more than 120 days without being updated. When your blog goes four months without anything new, it is more than likely a failure. So how can you keep your blog not only surviving, but thriving past 120 days, and well beyond? Here are few more tips that might help:

Clearly articulate the purpose of your photo blog to your viewers

Attention spans are short, and people today have a never-ending stream of tweets, news clips, soundbites, app updates, and cat videos coming their way, almost every waking moment. So,how on earth can you make your blog stand out, and get noticed amid all the other sites, apps, and feeds that people check on a daily basis?

New readers should be able to tell within five seconds, what your blog is about. The best option is to have a specific niche that your photo blog serves (e.g. wildlife, surfers, snowflakes, street pictures, etc.). But, even if it’s just pictures you like taking for no particular reason, you should at least make that clear to your readers upfront. You’re basically setting expectations right from the outset, and giving your audience a clear sense of what they will get out of reading your photo blog. Some people do this by having a descriptive name for their blogs, a brief tagline, or a set of pictures that instantly conveys a sense of purpose (e.g. flowers, cattle, cars, sunsets, etc.). Whatever the purpose of your photo blog is, if your readers can’t figure it out, they’re going to quickly move elsewhere.

My blog is specifically for photos I take with my 50mm lens, and I make that clear to my readers immediately when they visit the site. If you don't let your readers know what your blog is about they will probably not stick around very long.

My blog is specifically for photos I take with my 50mm lens, and I make that clear to my readers immediately when they visit the site. If you don’t let your readers know what your blog is about, they will probably not stick around very long.

Post new content regularly

Not every blog that is updated regularly is going to be a success, but every successful blog is updated regularly. I have seen too many photographers start blogs that are updated daily, then weekly, and before long, the rate at which new pictures are posted slows to a trickle. Soon it’s a photo every couple weeks, then one a month, and then a written apology by the blogger about how he or she has just been so busy lately, but they promise to start posting more photos soon. More often than not, soon becomes later, then later becomes never, and a once-promising photo blog becomes another statistic of failure rates.

The best way to combat this problem, is to not post pictures whenever you feel like it, but instead post them on a regular and predictable basis. This gives your readers something to expect, and also imparts upon you, the blogger, a sense of accountability, which helps keep your camera in your hands and out of your closet. My photo blog is titled “Weekly Fifty”, and because it requires me to post a picture every single week, I almost always carry my camera with me, and am constantly looking for photo opportunities. In almost three years I have never failed to post a photo each Wednesday morning, which has helped me build a nice following, with regular commenters as well.

A few years ago I ran out of ideas for pictures to post, but I knew I had to stick with my weekly schedule so I made this image that turned out to be one of my more popular photos.

A few years ago I ran out of ideas for pictures to post, but I knew I had to stick with my weekly schedule. So, I made this image, that turned out to be one of my more popular photos.

One trick I like to recommend for photo bloggers, is to schedule your posts in advance. This doesn’t work well for blogs about news or current events, but as a photo bloggers you do not have to be timely in the same manner. I currently have complete posts (each with a photo, written explanatory text, and an accompanying 4-minute audio commentary) scheduled for the next six weeks. I use WordPress, which allows me to schedule posts in advance, so each of these six posts will be automatically published on subsequent Wednesdays at 1:00 a.m. This gives me a bit of padding, if I ever find myself in a position with lots of things going on in my life, and my readers know that they will get a new picture each week, no matter what.

Of course the catch here, is that I can’t merely sit on my laurels in the meantime. I have to keep taking pictures, and producing new blog posts, so that six weeks from now I don’t run out of material. This type of accountability is enormously helpful for photo bloggers, and if you’re not sure where to start, I always recommend doing one picture each week. If that’s too much you can lower it, and if it’s not often enough you can increase it, but I have found that a weekly schedule is a sweet spot that gives you enough time to take pictures, and doesn’t overload your readers with so much new content that they start ignoring it.

Engage with your audience

Building a loyal audience is the holy grail of almost every blogger, but it’s not easy to do. Your readers have many obligations, alerts, people demanding their time, and often it’s difficult enough just to get them to visit your blog in the first place, much less comment on a photo, or offer some kind of reaction to it. Early in the life of your blog, visitors will usually not be invested in your pictures enough to leave comments. But, as you start to build traffic, and readership over time, you will likely have a few people who start to offer feedback on your images.

When you do get commenters it’s essential that you interact with them, in order to build a sense of community, respect, and mutual sharing. If someone likes one of your pictures, say “Thank you” and ask if you can see some of their photos too. If someone offers a bit of constructive criticism on a picture, try re-taking a similar photo using their suggestions. You can offer a Call to Action by posting a photo, and encouraging your readers to take, and share similar photos in the comments section. This type of audience engagement benefits all parties; by giving you even more reasons to continue your blog, giving your readers a reason to keep coming back, and giving new readers a sense that your photos are interesting and worthy of comments.

I ran my blog for almost a year and a half before getting any regular commenters. Now I get about 40 comments each month, a number with which I am very happy.

This chart shows my comment statistics for calendar year 2015. I ran my blog for almost a year and a half before getting any regular commenters, and now I get about 40 comments each month. It’s not huge, but it’s a number with which I am very happy.

If your blog grows to mammoth proportions, and you start getting hundreds of comments on each picture, it might not be reasonable to reply to every single one, but until that happens you need to take care to give each commenter a personal response. If people are taking time out of their day to leave comments on your pictures, knowing that you personally read and responded, will make them want to keep visiting your blog, and engaging with you as well as other readers.

On my blog I have a few loyal readers who comment on every single picture, and it’s well worth a few minutes of my time each week to respond to the things they write. This helps make my commenters feel valued, and builds a sense of community that would not exist otherwise.

Push content to your readers

People rarely go out of their way to visit a blog, so instead you need to find a way to push your new pictures to them. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to ask your readers to sign up for email updates, but you can also use social networks to get the word out about each new post.

Every Wednesday my email subscribers get that week’s photo in their email inbox, but I also publish a link to my blog on Facebook and Twitter, and put that week’s image in my Instagram feed as well. (With the last option people are not directed to my blog, but I still get to engage with them about my pictures.) If you would like to ultimately generate revenue from your blog you might want to focus on ways of pushing content to your readers that, as often as possible, will bring them directly to your site and not to somewhere else that also has your photos.

I woke up the morning this photo was published and found two comments had already been posted at about 2am. This type of engagement is possible because these people subscribed to email updates. If you don't have a way of pushing content to your readers you will likely not get the same level of engagement as you would otherwise.

I woke up the morning this photo was published and found two comments had already been posted at about 2am. This type of engagement is possible because these people subscribed to email updates. If you don’t have a way of pushing content to your readers you will likely not get the same level of engagement as you would otherwise.

Define your success criteria

I teach a Project Management class at Oklahoma State University. One concept we talk about often is how to tell if a project is successful, and the same holds true for your photo blog. At what point will you know that your blog has succeeded in meeting your goals? Will you be happy if you have two comments, and 10 social media shares for each picture you post? Are you looking for a way to generate a specific amount of revenue from your blog? Or is your success criteria more esoteric, such as using your blog for a sense of personal growth and development?

Having a set of clearly-defined success criteria is not necessarily essential for a blog, but it will give you something to shoot for, and a way of knowing whether you have gotten there or not. Whatever your success criteria is, take care to not compare it to anyone else’s. For example one of your photos might get five comments and 10 social media shares, but then you talk to a friend who just had five thousand visitors to his blog. Whose blog is more successful? The answer is…they both are.

Success depends entirely on how you define it, and thankfully the internet is big enough for millions of photo blogs to coexist. Congratulate your friend, and ask to see the photo that was so popular. Don’t make your blog’s success a competition, because and as long as you are happy with how things are going, then that’s the only thing that matters.

This photo had a great deal of personal meaning to me, but it generated very little traffic and almost no comments. If my success criteria is only quantifiable through numbers I would have been let down, but instead taking this photo forced me out of my comfort zone and made me try something new. Because of that I considered this one of my better photos even though raw numbers might say otherwise.

This photo had a great deal of personal meaning to me, but it generated very little traffic, and almost no comments. If my success criteria was only quantifiable through numbers I would have been let down, but instead the sheer act of taking this photo, forced me out of my comfort zone, and made me try something new. Because of that I considered this one of my better images, even though raw numbers might say otherwise.

Ignore the numbers

Visitor statistics can be so exciting, but they can also lead you down the path to the blogging dark side. It can be fun to log in to your account dashboard, and see that a recent picture generated 200 visitors, but those numbers don’t mean anything, if they don’t translate to reader engagement. Imagine building a store and getting hundreds of people to come see your wares, but having every one of them leave without making a purchase. Not only would your store be a failure, but you would quite likely be disappointed on a deeply personal level.

As a photo blogger you need to strive for quality over quantity, and look for ways to build a loyal following, not just try to increase raw visitor statistics. You might get a nice feeling seeing one of your photos get hundreds or thousands of views, but what happens when a different (or far better) picture you post gets only a couple dozen views? Visitor traffic is a fickle mistress, and if you pin your blogging hopes and dreams on simply making the numbers go up, you could very well be setting yourself up for a painful failure.

February 2015 was a big month for my blog, but the numbers have gone down dramatically ever since. Since my success criteria is not measured in raw numbers this drop in traffic makes no difference to me, but if numbers are your goal then you could very well end up chasing a white whale that can never be captured.

February 2015 was a big month for my blog, but the numbers have gone down dramatically ever since. Since my success criteria is not measured in raw numbers this drop in traffic makes no difference to me, but if numbers are your goal then you could very well end up chasing a white whale that can never be captured.

I used to run a movie and TV review website, and wrote an article about the now-defunct show, “Man versus Food” on The Travel Channel. Somehow the host of the show found out about the article, tweeted it to his followers, and that single article generated more traffic than anything else we had ever posted. The problem was that those visitors did not stick around, and within a few weeks we were back to the same relatively low numbers we always had. At the time I figured blogging success meant getting sky-high traffic numbers, and when those numbers did not pan out I thought we had failed.

When I started my Weekly Fifty photo blog, I took an entirely different route and tried hard to ignore numbers about visitor statistics, and have been much happier as a result. I do my blog because it helps me learn and grow as a photographer, and I get a great deal of personal satisfaction out of it. I appreciate the continual challenge it offers. In short, I’m a happy and successful small-time photo blogger, because I don’t let numbers and statistics define what success means to me.

This is by far the worst photo I have ever posted on my blog, and it's almost painful to look at it now. But early on in my blog I had no idea what I was doing, and it was only through taking lots of bad pictures that I learned how to make a good image. Even though this picture is kind of embarrassing, it served a valuable purpose both on my blog and for me as a photographer.

This is by far the worst photo I have ever posted on my blog and it’s almost painful to look at it now. But early on in my blog, I had no idea what I was doing, and it was only through taking lots of bad pictures that I learned how to make a good image. Though this picture is kind of embarrassing, it served a valuable purpose both on my blog, and for me as a photographer.

Do you have a photo blog, or are you thinking about starting one? I’d love to hear any tips you would like to share, and will try to answer any questions you might have as well. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and I’ll do my best to engage with you, the dPS readers, so you feel valued and keep coming back to our site. :)

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2 Quick Ways to Add a Sunflare in Photoshop

28 Feb

Sunflares can make an otherwise dull image, look pretty dramatic. It’s very tricky to get good images of a sunflare in-camera, especially when using natural light only, as the contrast between the light and dark parts of the image is often too great that no amount of Active-D lighting can fix. Thankfully, we have Photoshop and many special effects like sunflares can be magically created, added, or enhanced, using this software’s mind-blowing functionality.

special-effects-sunflare-photoshop-tutorial

Why add a sunflare?

Special effects, such as a sunflare, ultimately boil down to the photographer’s personal taste. Here are a few reasons why sunflares may be added in post-processing.

  • To exaggerate the sun’s rays.
  • To enhance contrast and inject drama.
  • To hide unwanted clutter.
  • To achieve artistic effects, for example if you are aiming for a dreamy and romantic effect, or soft and hazy ambience, such as the image above right.

When not to add a sunflare?

When you discover the magic of Photoshop, you can easily get carried away by the excitement of adding special effects, and there’s the danger that you add it on all your images, even when completely out of context, out of place, or totally unnecessary. I suggest avoiding sunflares when:

  • There is no sun at all or any large light source, in the shot.
  • When it makes the image look completely fake, when you really mean for it to look natural.

How to add flare in Photoshop

As is the usual case in Photoshop, there are always several methods to do something. This tutorial focuses on two ways of adding a sunflare.

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1. Method one: Using the LensFlare filter

Adding a bright sunflare to the image above won’t make much difference to an already washed out sky and part of the building. First of all you would need to create contrast by darkening the image. Copy the image on a new layer using CMD/CNTRL + J, and darken it using a Levels adjustment layer.

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Merge the background copy layer with the levels layer, by selecting both layers and typing CMD/CNTRL + E to merge them. Now you have a new darkened layer. Make another copy of the new darkened layer, then work on this new layer with the sunflare.

When you add sunflare, it is automatically added on the layer as part of the image, and not on a new layer by itself. So to be safe, keep a copy of the darkened layer which you don’t touch. Always work on the new copy with the sunflare, so in case you make mistakes or need to reposition your sunflare, then you won’t need make a darkened layer all over again. You can just delete the layer you are working on, and duplicate your untouched dark layer, to start adding a new sunflare.

In Photoshop, bring up the Lens Flare from the top menu bar using the Filter>Render>LensFlare drop down menu.

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You can experiment which type of lens flare you want to add, by clicking the circles next to the type of sunflare option, and adjusting the brightness intensity by moving the slider. Click OK when you’re happy with your choice, and the sunflare will be superimposed on your image on the same layer.

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Once the sunflare is applied to the image, add a layer mask, and using a soft black brush, remove some of the sunflare from areas you want to protect such as faces (make sure to paint on the mask, not on the layer).

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To finish, I added a photo filter on top, to warm up the image. Below is the image before and after the sunflare has been added. It is always a good practice to save the image with sunflare as a new JPG file, and always save your Photoshop file (PSD) with all the layers in tact, in case you need to revisit it again in the future.

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2. Method two: Using overlays

The built-in sunflares in Photoshop have very limited choices, as you have seen above. There are far more interesting sunflares of all shapes and colours available, in the form of overlays.

Below is an example of an image with a faint sunflare added in Photoshop, using one of the built-in choices above. I don’t think this is dramatic enough. In this example, I am exaggerating the sunflare by adding a sunflare overlay.

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First darken the image with Levels, as in the first method above, using a layer mask to protect areas you don’t want to be darkened. Then apply the overlay on the entire image, as shown below.

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Change the layer blend mode to Screen, which makes all the dark areas of the overlay disappear, and you will only be left with the light areas superimposed on your image.

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Below is the final JPG image with the new sunflare overlay, with the whole image darkened for more contrast.

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Below is another image about to be treated with a sunflare overlay, but this time way more exaggerated than the example above.

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The overlay is so strong, as you can see on Layer 1 below, I have applied a levels layer to brighten it a little, and a layer mask to gradually remove some of the overlay from areas I wanted to protect.

special-effects-sunflare-photoshop-tutorial (7)

Below is the final image with an exaggerated sunflare overlay, that looks like it has been photographed through a warm filter over the lens.

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A few things to note when applying special effects

  • Be subtle and experiment with the opacity to achieve the desired effect.
  • Darken surrounding areas to emphasize flare, especially on a very bright image.
  • Mask off special effects from faces, and areas that clearly do not need it. The built-in sunflares in Photoshop have circular flares that appear too perfect and hard-edged. You can always mask some of this away to take the edge off, and soften the flare effect.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tutorial in adding a sunflare special effect in Photoshop. Do you have other tips and ways to add sunflares in post-processing? Please share them in the comments below.

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The journey: Michael Brown on photography at the edge of the world

28 Feb

Michael Brown is an award-winning director and a pioneer of adventure filmmaking. He has summited peaks on all seven continents (including five summits of Mount Everest) and made first kayak descents of wild rivers in places like Bhutan and Chile, all with the camera rolling.

Brown goes into some of the world’s most hostile environments — where there’s little room for error — and comes away with stunning visual footage and stirring stories that remind us of our shared humanity. He believes that if you can imagine a goal, you can achieve it.

In his talk from PIX 2015 Michael takes us on a very personal journey to the edges of the world, including climbing Mt. Everest with blind climber Erik Weihenmayer. In the process, he shares important lessons about risks, relationships and the importance of challenging ourselves and mentoring others.

To learn more about Michael’s work you can visit his web site at Serac Adventure Films.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Opinion: Enthusiast compacts have finally come of age

28 Feb

Last December I was looking to buy a camera for my mom to replace her aging Panasonic travel zoom. It didn’t take very good photos but, to be fair, you can’t expect miracles from a 30x zoom camera with a 1/2.3″ sensor. She listed a couple of must-haves: it should fit in a purse, have a decent amount of zoom and have photo quality that was better than what she had now. She didn’t want to deal with changing lenses and my dad wanted it to have a viewfinder, if possible.

Being somewhat knowledgeable in the digital camera field I knew that I needed to look at the 1″-type camera market first. Back in mid-December I had just a few options: the Canon PowerShot G3 X / G5 X / G7 X / G9 X, the Panasonic FZ1000 and the Sony RX100 and RX10 series. While quite a few of those cameras passed the ‘purse test’, none had focal lengths longer than 100mm equiv. For real zoom power there was only the Canon G3 X, Panasonic FZ1000 and Sony RX10, all of which were far, far too large. 

The RX100 III and IV meet the size and EVF requirements but are just too limited in terms of zoom. The Panasonic FZ1000 is my favorite enthusiast superzoom but is way too large for a purse.

Plan B was to find something in the middle: a slightly smaller sensor that had decent zoom, and my choice was Olympus’ Stylus 1s. It has solid image quality, well-designed controls, and a 10X zoom, making me think that I found just what I’d been looking for. Shortly after it arrived I did a quick FaceTime chat with the future recipient who thought it was too large for a purse, and I agreed, so back it went.

At this point I felt as if I’d struck out. Anything with a decent zoom was just too darn big, and pocket cameras just wouldn’t cut it.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX90V ticked all of the boxes on my shopping list, except for one: image quality.

Not knowing what was coming out next (really!), I bit my tongue and bought a Sony Cyber-shot HX90V. It’s small, has a 30X zoom, a pop-up EVF (a la RX100 III/IV), flip-up LCD, and Wi-Fi. Sounds like the perfect gift, except for two rather important things. First, the sensor size is 1/2.3″, which is exactly what I was trying to avoid. Second, the lens is quite slow, with a maximum aperture range of F3.5-6.4. Thus, in low light, the camera will need to crank up the ISO, resulting in a big drop in image quality.

The hole in the market

What was missing in the 1″ sensor market was pretty obvious: something in-between the compact, short zooms and the giant superzooms. As anyone who has ever bought a piece of consumer electronics knows, your purchase is outdated as soon as it leaves the store. As luck would have it, the camera I’d been waiting for showed up on January 5th: the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100.

The Panasonic ZS100/TZ100 finds a middle ground between small/short zoom and huge/long zoom.

The ZS100 (known as the TZ100 in most countries) ticked nearly every box on my list. It’s compact, has a reasonable amount of zoom (10X, 25-250mm equiv.), and an EVF (though it’s not a great one). Seeing how it uses the same sensor as the FZ1000, photo quality and 4K video should both be very good. The only downside I can find is that the lens, with a maximum aperture range of F2.8-5.9, is pretty slow. At least image quality should hold up when it has to increase the ISO sensitivity in low light. 

Unfortunately, the ZS100 wasn’t set to ship until mid-March, so my mom was out of luck.

Where’s my wide-angle?

Still, there was one area of the 1″ camera market in which there was a void, and that was at the wide end. The Panasonic LX100 was really the only choice, but it’s considerably larger than what I was looking for.

The Nikon DL18-50 filled in the last gap in the 1″ enthusiast compact market with its 18-50mm equivalent lens.

Then, lo and behold, Nikon came running into the market with three new 1″ cameras (known as the DLs), which finally filled in that last gap. The camera that did so is the DL18-50 which, as its name implies, has an 18-50mm equivalent lens – easily the widest in this class. And it’s a fast one, with a maximum aperture range of F1.8-2.8. There are many other things going for it spec-wise; it has a 20.8MP sensor (likely from Nikon’s 1 J5 mirrorless camera), Hybrid AF system (the DL cameras are the only cameras in the 1″ category with this), tilting LCD, 4K video and a ‘SnapBridge’ Wi-Fi system that uses Bluetooth to maintain a constant connection with your phone. We haven’t tested it yet, but we’re really looking forward to it.

The two other DLs have the same guts, but have focal lengths that fit in with the competition. The DL24-85 slots in-between the Sony RX100 III/IV and Canon PowerShot G7 X I/II, while the DL24-500 is similar to the Canon G3 X and Panasonic FZ1000. 

Everyone wins

When I started my search for that Christmas gift, the enthusiast compact market was so limited that I ended up purchasing the very type of camera that I was trying to avoid in the first place. Had Christmas been postponed about four months, the ZS100 would’ve been in a box with “To Mom” on it. 

In the end, this year’s rapid growth in the enthusiast compact market didn’t help me personally. But there are now cameras for every situation, from wide-angle to super-telephoto. The enthusiast compact market has finally come of age, to the benefit of everyone. 

* The G7 X has since been replaced by a Mark II model which offers a faster processor, improved Raw shooting and battery life, and refined ergonomics.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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