DxO Labs has released version 8.1.5 of its DxO Optics Pro software. Both the Elite and Standard versions gain Nikon D7100 support. The update also adds 131 lens and cameras combinations for Nikon, Panasonic, Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina users. These modules join the existing list of over 11,000 combinations. Click through for the download link.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Everybody loves a good story. Knowing this fact is what separates a good photographer, from an exceptional one. With this knowledge, a photographer has a whole breath of tools at their command to trap the viewer, and cause them to be spellbound! Below I have listed 6 of the best ways to give your photographic approach the artistic edge of Continue Reading
The post 6 Easy Ways to Give your Photographs a Compelling Narrative appeared first on Photodoto.
Seit einem halben Jahr fotografiere ich exklusiv mit dem iPhone und lasse bis auf berufliche Einzelfälle die DSLR im Schränkchen. Herzlich willkommen zum sechsten und vorletzten Monatsbericht meines iPhone-Projektes.
Moment mal. Vorletzter? Da fehlen doch noch ein paar!
Exakt. Das Projekt wird weiterlaufen. Dementgegen möchte ich aber nicht fortführend im Monatszyklus darüber berichten. Es war sinnvoll, reflektierend den Projektverlauf schriftlich zu begleiten. Jedoch ist mir danach – bis auf das abschließende Fazit – diesem Prozess künftig privat, aber mitnichten publizistisch in diesem Rahmen nachzukommen.
Die letzten Wochen war es streckenweise blendend hell in Karlsruhe und die Sonne bescherte mir das Glück, mit Unterbelichtungen spielen zu dürfen. Zwar würde ich mich weniger als Schönwetterfotograf bezeichnen, gleichwohl finde ich es erbaulicher, nicht ständig an der Grenze zur Langzeitbelichtung entlang zu balancieren und kürzer als 1/120s zu belichten.
Nachdem ich mich im Januar auf Farbe (und ab und zu schwarzweiß) eingeschossen hatte, stand in den Februartagen folgender Aspekt zur Debatte: Das Format. Ich hatte keine Lust mehr, ständig aufs Instagram‘sche Quadrat beschränkt zu sein und spielte mit 16:9 sowie dem gängigen 4:3, das mir wiederum final zusagte. Einerseits aus fotografisch-bildwirkender Perspektive und anderseits auch, weil ich mit 4:3 die Sensorgröße der iPhone-Kamera tatsächlich vollständig nutze.
Inzwischen habe ich Drucke bei Saal Digital anfertigen lassen, um zu prüfen, wie und ob die Fotos auf Papier gefallen. Die Variante 30 x 30 cm geriet ganz famos und hängt längst bei uns in den Schaufenstern. Ich habe mich nicht lumpen lassen und überdies noch zwei Drucke vom Format 60 x 120 cm in Auftrag gegeben.
Die, wen wundert’s, aus nächster Nähe keine präzise 21-Megapixel-Schärfe demonstrieren, aber schon ab anderthalb Metern Betrachtungsabstand recht ersprießlich aussehen.
Um beim Thema zu bleiben: Ich denke just drüber nach, die nächste Jahre weiterhin und ausschließlich mit dem iPhone urban zu fotografieren. Ich habe mich herzlich daran gewöhnt, sodass ich mir gut vorstellen kann, auch die künftigen Generationen des Apfelfons zu strapazieren; diese werden hinsichtlich technischer Qualität doch immerzu leistungsfähiger.
Doch für ein abschließendes Urteil ist es augenblicklich noch zu früh und ich werde nach Projekt-Ausklang mit mir selbst Fraktur reden müssen. Denn eine derartige Entscheidung hätte weitreichende Folgen, die bis in die Spitzen meiner Möglichkeiten spürbar würden.
Desweiteren spuken noch diverse Messsucher-Geschichten in den Hinterkämmerchen meines Wunschdenkens herum und die Fuji X100(s) blinzelt mich seit Monaten mesmerisierend an. Jedoch: Piano, piano, Herr Gommel.
Das Fotografieren geht mir tagtäglich leichter von der Hand und ich verliere etappenweise Ängste vor potentiellen Nachfragen seitens der Leute, da ich versuche, sie auch aus kürzestmöglicher Distanz aufzunehmen und lande häufig unbewusst in einem Spiegelgefecht. Dazu eine nette Geschichte:
Vor drei Wochen erkundigte sich ein Mann, ob ich ihn gerade fotografiert hätte. Kurz erschrocken lächelte ich ihn an und erwiderte: „Oh ja, das sah super aus!“ und erklärte mich als Karlsruher Straßenfotograf. Zeigte ihm das Foto und wider Erwarten verabschiedete er sich geflissentlich-zelebrierend, so ungefähr: „Toll! Weiter so!“
Noch vor einem Jahr hätte ich mir nicht träumen lassen, einmal nur mit dem Handy auf der Straße (und in Farbe!) zu fotografieren. Heute ist es Teil meines Alltages und nicht mehr wegzudenken. Ich bin gespannt, was das nächste halbe Jahr so bringt und werde zum Abschluss hier darüber berichten.
kwerfeldein – Fotografie Magazin
[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Products & Packaging. ]
It takes a powerful book to survive decades or even centuries and stay prominently in the public eye. This pair of classics are a rarity in that respect, but like any books, one thing does change over time: their covers.
First, Fahrenheit 451, reintroduced by designer Elizabeth Perez. In her words, it is “a novel about a dystopian future where books are outlawed and firemen burn any house that contains them. The story is about suppressing ideas, and about how television destroys interest in reading literature.”
And what would be more apt than a book cover and binding that reflects that horrific world? The one becomes a match, and the spine becomes a striking surface, powerfully reinforcing the core message of the novel.
Then we have 1984, part of a series of re-releases from Penguin designed by David Pearson – again, the message of censorship becomes boldly emblazoned right on the cover of the volume.
But with physical books being, perhaps an endangered species, maybe you would like something new to swap into your collection but that also breaks traditional boundaries. Introducing: Paper Passion, a scent from Stiedl. It is a fragrance based on the smell of books – a powerful scent familiar with anyone who has revisited their childhood favorites.
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Just posted: Our Canon EOS 100D (Rebel SL1) preview samples gallery. We’ve been lucky enough to get our hands on a pre-production sample of Canon’s latest miniaturised SLR, and have assembled a quick samples gallery to give an idea of how it performs. We’ve shot using the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM and EF 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake lenses, and aimed to cover a variety of subjects and lighting conditions. The pre-production camera used offers ‘Beta’ standard image quality, so may not fully reflect the final image quality (although it’s unlikely to be radically different).
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Photographer Finn Beales primarily uses his Canon EOS 5D Mark III when shooting for major brands as well as media outlets, but he also uses his smartphone to capture poignant moments like this image of his son floating in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, which recently won the children’s category in the annual Mobile Photography Awards. Learn more about Beales’ work on connect.dpreview.com.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
3 weeks ago we released a brand new mini-guide to Food Photography over at our sister site – SnapnGuides.
The guide was released with a 30% off early bird discount (bringing the price down to just $ 7) and today I just wanted to let dPS readers know that that discount ends in just on 24 hours time.
This ‘http://www.snapnguides.com/’ guide will:
If you were thinking about grabbing a copy here’s the link to save 30% for the very last time.
In 24 hours the price will go up.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Grab our Food Photography Guide for just $ 7 [24 Hours Only]
High speed camera maker Vision Research has put together its first footage with the yet to be announced Phantom Flex4K video camera. Capable of capturing up to 1000 fps at 4K resolution, the Flex4K features a 10MP Super-35 sensor, records either RAW or compressed footage and will come in PL, PV Canon EF, Nikon F,G mounts. For this video, NYC-based cinematographer Greg Wilson and director Brendan Bellomo captured the Hebron and Glastonbury Fire Departments in action, highlighting the camera’s slow motion capabilities. Click through to watch the video.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Landscape photography is often synonymous with wide-angle lenses, strategically placed foreground elements and all encompassing vistas that stretch from the very near to the very far. There is no doubt that using that approach can create wonderful images that lead the viewer through a grand landscape however there is also merit in taking a different approach and using a telephoto lens.
This rolling farmland was isolated using a focal length equivalent to 280mm, f/13, 1/200s, ISO 200, using a tripod
Often, when photographing a landscape, there is a particular element of the scene that has caught your eye and made you want to capture the image. With a telephoto lens, it is possible to isolate that key element and bring it to the fore of the composition, rather than let it get lost amongst the other distractions introduced when shooting with a wide angle. You will find that a telephoto lens will also compress the perspective of the landscape, brining distant objects much closer, giving a different sense of scale to when using a wide-angle lens.
The approach taken to shoot landscapes with a telephoto lens is similar to when using a wide-angle lens, though there are some additional considerations. Here are a few tips to help you along the way:
1. Composition: Look for a strong feature of the landscape and try to isolate it within the frame, leaving out unnecessary elements that detract from the composition, for example, the sky – we often feel the need to include the sky within landscape images, however if it doesn’t add significant interest, or would detract from the main element, why not leave it out?
2. Sturdy support: You will want to use a sturdy tripod to ensure you can shoot without suffering from camera shake. Telephoto lenses are very sensitive to the slightest movement so a solid support is key to capturing sharp images. If shooting handheld, a good rule of thumb is to aim for a shutter speed quicker than ‘1/focal length’ to avoid camera shake however depending on the available light that is not always possible, hence the recommendation for a tripod.
3. Camera shake: Utilise ‘mirror lock-up’ or a remote shutter release (even both) to further reduce the chances of vibrations. When the shutter is pressed, the movement of the mirror can introduce vibrations that can cause loss of sharpness, so the ‘mirror lock-up’ feature (found within the menus of most DSLRs) introduces a small delay between lifting the mirror and opening the shutter.
4. Image Stabilisation: Switch off any image stabilisation features on the lens or within the camera body. That feature that you rely on when shooting handheld can actually introduce camera shake if left on when your camera is mounted on a tripod, and when using a telephoto lens, those movements will be exaggerated and result in a softer image.
A Tuscan landscape captured using a focal length equivalent to 120 mm
5. Aperture selection: Be aware of the optimum aperture required to capture the scene in sharp focus. When the subject is distant, a large depth of field can be easily achieved (even with a telephoto lens) so consider using apertures within the ‘sweet spot’ of your lens (typically f/8 to f/11).
6. Filters: If you do chose to incorporate the sky within a telephoto landscape you may find that the dynamic range of the scene is greater than your camera can capture in one shot. Typically, you may use graduated neutral density filters to overcome this, however it is more than likely that the diameter of your wide-angle lens will differ to your telephoto lens, meaning you may not have the appropriate filter ring size to use with your telephoto lens. Adapter rings are fairly cheap to buy and keep in your camera bag just in case, otherwise think about capturing bracketed exposures (exposed correctly for the sky and land) in order to blend them together later on.
A panorama stitched from 7 images taken at a focal length equivalent to 100 mm.
7. Panoramas: Telephotos lenses are great for capturing panoramas as there is very little distortion due to focal length. This means you can zoom in even further on a feature within the landscape and capture a number of images to stitch together into one panoramic image (even though the final field of view may not actually be that wide).
Seeing compositions that work with a telephoto lens may be challenging initially, however it won’t be long before you start isolating elements of the landscape in your minds eye. A good exercise is to go out and challenge yourself to shoot landscapes with only your telephoto lens. You will find that the change of focal length may be refreshing as even local landscapes can be transformed to something unfamiliar when seen through a telephoto lens.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Tips for Shooting Landscapes with a Telephoto Lens
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