Panasonic has announced firmware V2.0 for the Lumix S1H that, alongside the usual bug fixes, adds the ability to output 5.9K or 4K Raw video data that can be captured as ProRes Raw when connected to an Atomos Ninja V recorder.
Raw video provides editors with more post processing flexibility than Log-encoded footage, including Panasonic’s own V-Log, and provides similar capabilities to Raw photo editing, such as the ability to set a new white balance after footage is shot.
Apple recently released a version 1.0 beta of ProRes Raw for Windows that added support to Adobe apps running on the Windows platform, including Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. Availability on both Apple and Windows systems should make it easier for video shooters to adopt the codec.
Firmware V2.0 for the Panasonic S1H adds ProRes Raw video capture capability when paired with an Atomos Ninja V recorder.
The firmware, which doesn’t require a paid upgrade, adds 5.9K 16:9 capture from the full width of the sensor at up to 30p or 4K 17:9 capture from a Super 35 region at up to 60p. There’s also a 4:3 option for anamorphic Super 35 shooting. All modes are based on 12-bit output.
Unlike ProRes Raw capture on Nikon’s Z6, the Panasonic does not pixel skip to produce its Raw video data stream. Its viewfinder also continues to function when Raw data is being output, which is likely to be a benefit for anyone shooting hand-held footage.
A full suite of exposure support tools, including Wave Form Monitor, Vector Scope, Luminance Spot Meter, Zebra Pattern remains available.
Alongside Raw video options, a series of minor UI and handling improvements have been added, and a series of minor bugs fixed. The firmware will be available from May 25th.
Press Release:
Panasonic Releases Firmware Update Program for LUMIX S1H RAW Video Data Output over HDMI
Newark, NJ (April 20, 2020) – Panasonic has announced that the company will release the firmware update program for the LUMIX S1H Full-Frame mirrorless camera to enhance its performance and usability, as stated last September. Working together with Atomos, a global company that creates video equipment for professional film creators, the new firmware enables the output of maximum 5.9K/29.97p and 59.94p 4K* RAW video data over HDMI to save it as Apple ProRes RAW on the Atomos Ninja V 4K HDR monitor-recorder. In addition, it further complies with 3.5K Anamorphic 4:3. Panasonic commits to provide innovative solutions for professional film creation by enabling all S1H users to receive this firmware for free of charge.
The program will be available at LUMIX Global Customer Support website https://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/support/global/cs/dsc/ on May 25, 2020.
* 4128×2176(17:9), announced as “C4K” at IBC2019. Corresponding to C4K (4096×2160) as defined by Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI).
LUMIX S1H Firmware Version 2.0
1) RAW video data output over HDMI
[5.9K] / [4K] / [Anamorphic (4:3) 3.5K] 12-bit RAW video data can be output over HDMI. The Apple ProRes RAW can be recorded on Atomos Ninja V.
Area
Resolution
Frame Rate
Aspect
HDMI Output
Full-Frame
5.9K (5888×3312)
29.97p/25p/23.98p
16:9
12-bit
Super 35mm
4K (4128×2176)
59.94p/50p/29.97p/25p/23.98p
17:9
12-bit
Super 35mm Anamorphic
3.5K (3536×2656)
50p/29.97p/25p/23.98p
4:3
12-bit
V-Log or Rec.709 is selectable on Live View monitor during RAW output.
Shooting assist functions including WFM (Wave Form Monitor), Vector Scope, Luminance Spot Meter, Zebra Pattern can be used during RAW output.
2) Enhanced video functions / improved performance
Downconverted output over HDMI during [6K]/[5.9K]/[5.4K] video recording is available.
In Creative Video mode, it is possible to disable the operation of starting/stopping video recording by pressing a shutter button.
In Creative Video mode, it is possible to set [Rec Quality(My List)] from the control panel.
The value of noise reduction in [V-Log] in Photo Style has been expanded to [-1]. It suppresses afterimages previously occurred in some situations.
It is possible to prevent the enlarged view window of MF Assist to be output over HDMI.
There were cases where color banding appeared in 4:2:0/10-bit video recording in some situations. This bug has been minimized.
There were cases where the REC RUN time code did not count up when the video was not recorded on an SD Memory Card but was recorded on an external device over HDMI. This bug has been fixed.
3) Other added functions / improvements
It is possible to set [AF+MF] in AFC mode.
It is possible to assign functions to the lens’ Fn buttons when the Panasonic LUMIX S PRO 70-200mm F2.8 O.I.S. (S-E70200) is mounted.
It is possible to assign function to the Fn buttons of Sigma L-Mount interchangeable lenses.
When attaching a lens using the Sigma MC-21 mount converter and [Image Stabilizer] > [Lens] is set to ON , Body I.S.(Image Stabilizer) suppresses roll movement.
[Backlight Illumination Period] has been added to the menu of Status LCD. [ON1] prevents the LCD backlight to be turned off.
It is possible to select the card slot to save the JPEG images developed by in-camera RAW processing.
[0.5 SEC] has been added for an option of [Duration Time (photo)] in [Auto Review].
[Off (Disable Press and Hold)] can be assigned to the Fn button. It disables operation when the button is long-pressed.
Fn button can be used for checking aperture effect while the button is pressed.
To prevent improper operation, touch-control is disabled for [Delete All] operation in playback mode. Only cursor buttons can be used for [Delete All] operation.
There were rare cases where the camera froze during [Segmented File Recording] or during recording at 400 Mbps under a particular set of conditions including the type of SD Card used. This phenomenon has been improved.
Aperture and shutter speed can be controlled using front/rear dials when the rear monitor is set to OFF.
There were cases where F value control failed depending on the maximum F value when non-Panasonic L-Mount lens is mounted. This bug has been fixed.
In this video we share our first impressions of the Canon EOS R5’s impressive video specifications, as well as some other features that might get lost in the headlines.
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As part of today’s ‘Imaging Unleashed’ virtual press conference, Canon has announced the Canon C300 Mark III, its latest Super 35mm cinema camera with a new Dual Gain Output (DGO) sensor and a modular design based on the same frame as Canon’s C500 Mark II.
If the outside of the Canon C300 Mark III looks both different and familiar, there’s a reason why: it uses the exact same body as Canon’s C500 Mark II camera. This design not only allows for more modularity within the C300 line but also means all accessories designed for the C500 Mark II will also work with the new C300 Mark III. Canon has also added anamorphic desqueeze support for 2x and 1.3x lenses, as well as a user-swappable lens mount accessory that makes it easy to swap out lens mounts without the need to take it to a service center (it comes with an EF mount, but can also use EF cinema lock and PL mount lenses with the optional kits).
An illustration from Canon’s virtual press conference that shows how each pixel on the sensor is split into two different diodes.
At the heart of the C300 Mark III is a new 4K Super 35mm DGO sensor powered by Canon’s new DIGIC DV7 video imaging processor. The new DGO system allows the sensor to capture up to 16 stops of dynamic range by splitting each pixel into two diodes that simultaneously capture two images at different gain levels. Helpfully, this is a completely different ‘dual gain’ concept to the one used by most other camera makers, in which all the sensor’s pixels use one of two gain modes.
These two diodes within each pixel are also used to power the phase-detection of Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF, which will now work at up to 120 frames per second (fps) with the new C300 Mark III.
Also new is support for Canon’s Cinema RAW Light format, which Canon first announced alongside the EOS C200. The Cinema RAW Light format is a more lightweight version of its Cinema RAW format that captures Raw video data in files as little as 1/5th the size of a standard Cinema RAW file. Canon Europe has a great breakdown of its Cinema RAW Light capture format.
The sensor is capable of recording 4K DCI/UHD video at up to 120fps, as well as 2K at up to 180fps with 4:2:2 10-bit XF-AVC recording. Canon has also included Canon Log 2 and Log 3 support, 12G-SDI output over a single BNC cable, timecode I/O, genlock input BNCs as well as User LUT support for applying custom LUTS in-camera and two CFexpress card slots.
Without the included grip, the modular frame measures in at 183mm (7.2”) for both width and height and 149mm (5.9”) deep with a weight of roughly 1750g (3.9lbs).
Canon says the camera will be ‘available later in 2020’ with an estimated retail price of $ 10.999. The camera will come with 13 accessories, including a 4.3” LCD monitor, the GR-V1 grip, a BP-A60 battery, a battery charger and more. It is currently available to pre-order on Adorama and B&H.
The Canon EOS R5 is making waves thanks to its impressive video specifications. Not since the days of the 5D Mark II has there been this much enthusiasm from videographers around a Canon DSLR or mirrorless camera.
Canon practically launched the DSLR video revolution. It owned the marketshare and, more importantly, the mindshare, of DSLR video enthusiasts, yet lost that momentum over the next few years. It often seemed as though video simply wasn’t a priority, or that Canon’s innovation had slowed and it was content to rest on its laurels.
However, there’s a bit more to the story and it may help explain why we didn’t see much progress from Canon for a few years: and why it may finally be back and ready to go big.
Cinema EOS
It turns out Canon was almost as surprised at the 5D II’s success as a video tool as everyone else, something confirmed to me by Canon’s Senior Technical Advisor for Film and TV Production, Tim Smith, and that success helped solidify Canon’s decision to enter the cinema market.
It turns out Canon was almost as surprised at the 5D II’s success as a video tool as everyone else.
Over the next few years Canon took a side trip and developed an entire line of motion picture products, called Cinema EOS, which undoubtedly entailed a lot of risk, investment and innovation.
It even built a technical center in Burbank, CA, in the heart of the Hollywood film industry. As Smith explained to me, that move wasn’t just so that Canon could support its Hollywood customers, but so that it could learn from its customers in Hollywood.
Canon built a facility in Burbank, California, in order to forge relationships within the industry.
Canon cinema products are well regarded and have been used for numerous feature films and TV shows. Strategically, Canon took a long-game approach by targeting up-and-coming filmmakers to build future market share. That strategy seems to have paid off, as evidenced by the cameras used to produce films appearing in prominent festivals like Sundance. It’s an impressive performance considering Canon wasn’t even in the business ten years ago.
During these years, Canon’s seemingly forgotten, and sometimes maligned, DSLRs saw relatively few significant video improvements. Canon was still innovating; it was just innovating elsewhere. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sharing that technology and know-how with DSLR users, deciding they didn’t need it, didn’t want it, or that it might cannibalize Cinema EOS.
Canon’s first full-frame mirrorless camera, the EOS R, had lackluster video specs compared to many competitors.
Meanwhile, competitors jumped in. Panasonic, Sony, Nikon, and even Fujifilm – a company whose video once produced moiré so colorful it inspired technicolor fever dreams – all earned significant street cred with videographers.
Headline features
Which brings us back to the EOS R5. With the R5, Canon appears to have pulled out all the stops for video. On paper at least, it sets new class leading standards, something we haven’t said about a Canon’s main EOS line in quite some time. It’s difficult to believe that the R5 wasn’t heavily influenced by Canon’s experience developing cinema products.
It’s worth emphasizing the ‘on paper’ part; we all know that spec sheets don’t tell the whole story and we haven’t tested the camera. We’ll do that, I promise, but assuming there aren’t any serious gotchas, let’s look at how the R5 potentially raises the bar for cameras in its class.
On paper at least, it sets new class leading standards – something we haven’t said about a Canon DSLR or mirrorless camera in quite some time.
The R5’s headline feature is 8K video. You may or may not need 8K video, but let’s acknowledge Canon for the technical achievement. After all, if it was easy other manufacturers would have done it already. From a marketing perspective, just having ‘8K’ on the box goes a long way.
However, it looks like Canon is trying to do more than check a box on a marketing punch-list. The camera uses the full width of its sensor to record up to 8K/30p in 4:2:2 10-bit color using the H.265 codec. It will include Canon’s C-Log gamma and, for HDR capture, HDR PQ. Like the recent EOS 1D X III, it will also record Raw video internally.
What’s more, Canon says that dual pixel autofocus works in all 8K modes, unlike some other models that don’t support this feature in the best video settings.
The R5’s headline feature is 8K video, with dual pixel autofocus available in all 8K modes.
We would be pleased to see these specs on a camera that shoots 4K, but Canon has done it with four times as many pixels. What’s possibly more impressive than resolution is what Canon must have done under the hood to pull it off. This level of video processing requires serious bandwidth and computing power.
There are still big unknowns. One would expect a camera with these specs to generate a lot of heat and the R5 doesn’t appear to have a fan, something that’s common on high end video cameras. Heat, battery or card capacity will put a limit on it, and potentially not a very high one.
4K video is standard at this point, but 4K/120p is notable. It’s the first time we’ve seen it on a mirrorless camera, and even the list of models supporting 4K/60p is relatively short. 4K/120p translates into 5x slow motion on a 24p timeline without dropping down to HD resolution and will be useful to a lot of people. It also raises expectations for other cameras.
Notable callouts
Not everything on the R5 is cutting edge. One notable area where it plays catch up with competitors is 5-axis in-body image stabilization (IBIS).
Canon historically relied on lens-based IS, which isn’t surprising considering the EF lens system was originally designed for film cameras. In contrast, the RF-mount is an all-digital system with no film legacy. Even so, IBIS feels like it’s overdue. It’s hard to give Canon extra credit for adding it, but we warmly welcome it to the IBIS club.
I’m pleased to see that R5 has dual card slots. It’s a pro-level camera and legitimately deserves two card slots. However, by making one of those a UHS-II SD card slot, Canon has essentially made the R5 a single card video camera, an odd choice for a camera with so much emphasis on video.
Finally, let’s not forget that the R5 is also a stills camera, and one that should be competitive in resolution against the Nikon Z7 or Sony a7R III. Given the improvements we’ve seen in Canon’s sensors of late, we expect it will deliver great image quality, particularly when paired with the impressive RF lenses Canon has been turning out.
The wrap
In recent years, Canon has often been criticized for lack of innovation or for holding back video features to protect its Cinema EOS line. There’s some truth to that, and users have rightly challenged Canon to do better. It appears that with the R5 Canon is trying to do just that.
This is the company that owned much of the early mindshare among DSLR video shooters. If Canon’s goal is to recapture the magic of the 5D Mark II in the mirrorless camera world, the R5 makes a pretty strong statement.
If Canon’s goal is to recapture the magic of the 5D Mark II in the mirrorless camera world, the R5 makes a pretty strong statement.
However, the landscape has changed since 2008. This is a crowded space with solid competition and it may be hard to convince some to return. Additionally, as impressive as 8K is, it’s simply not a priority for many. However, Canon has a habit of playing the long game, as evidenced by its Cinema EOS strategy, and it will be interesting to see how it plays this one.
What may be most exciting is that Canon seems to have gotten its mojo back and is beginning to mix things up a bit. Even if you’re not a Canon user that should be good news: healthy competition results in better products for all of us.
The post How to Choose the Best Lens for Wildlife Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Shreyas Yadav.
Before you select a lens for wildlife photography, first ask yourself – what are you passionate about photographing? Do you love exploring the forest and chasing big cats on a wildlife safari? Perhaps you love photographing birds flying around? Maybe you love to explore reptiles and amphibians?
After you have figured out what you are passionate about, think about how many of those subjects are available and whether you can access that location. For example, if I am passionate about exploring forests full of tigers, leopards, and elephants, I have to see if those subjects – and the location – are accessible to me at least once a month.
Alternatively, if I am passionate about colorful birds, I have to check if I can access those locations at least once a month.
If you can access the location and subject of your choice, you are lucky. It will make your lens selection an easy decision. Since you will be using that lens every month, it makes complete sense to own the glass.
Homecoming : Baya Weaver Bird in Flight
On the other hand, if you love birds and African Big five. If you live away from Africa, then it is better to buy a lens that is perfect for birds – which you are more likely to shoot every weekend. Whereas, you may only visit Africa once every three years. Hence, think about it before you purchase a lens.
The most crucial factor is the budget. How much cash you can allocate to the lens. Keep aside some money for the camera body, accessories, and most importantly for travel, as wildlife photography involves a considerable amount of travel. While travel is sometimes hectic and a bit expensive, it is an awesome experience!
Key factors to consider while selecting the lens for wildlife photography
To summarise, below are the key factors to consider while selecting the lens for wildlife photography:
Personal liking
Subject availability
Location accessibility
Budget
Technical factors to consider when choosing the best lens for wildlife photography
Let’s start with the technical factors you should consider while choosing the best lens for wildlife photography.
Focal length range
Maximum aperture
Focusing speed
Controls and ergonomics
Compatibility with Teleconverters
Weather sealing
Low light performance
The King – Power, Dominance, Calmness and Royal presence
1. Focal length range
The range of focal lengths is essential to photographing wildlife images. You need longer focal lengths to photograph birds and mammals. For photographing birds, you need a focal length of at least 400 mm. And it can go up to 600 or even 800 mm.
If you are photographing mammals, the required focal length is from 200mm up to 600 mm. The longer the focal length, the better reach you will have.
However, there are exceptions in some of the cases.
When you want to show wildlife in its habitat or if you can approach the wildlife at a close distance, you can use shorter focal lengths, such as 12mm or 14mm.
But in most of the wildlife cases, there will be a distance between you and the wildlife you photograph. Hence longer focal lengths are useful.
2. Maximum aperture
Lens aperture determines how much light passes through the lens to the camera’s sensor. Larger apertures help to capture maximum light.
Large aperture lenses focus faster than smaller aperture lenses too.
In wildlife photography, the action is fast, so to capture fast action, you need a quicker focusing lens. Hence, it’s preferable to use a lens with a large aperture in Wildlife photography.
The maximum aperture can be f/2.8 and f/4. The lenses with a fast aperture (smaller number) can focus fast.
Image quality, depth of field, and sharpness are superb for lenses with a faster aperture.
Select the lens with an aperture value of f/2.8 or f/4. The smallest aperture you can go up to is f/5.6. Try not to choose lenses slower than f/5.6.
Sony FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS
3. Focusing speed
Focusing speed is critical for wildlife and bird photography.
The best lens should focus fast and accurately and should be able to focus precisely – even in the low light as well.
Focusing speed is mainly dependent on the maximum aperture and lens construction.
While looking at the lens construction, we will not be able to figure out the focusing speed. But, based on the maximum aperture number, we can get an idea of lens focusing speed.
A lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or f/4 focuses fast and accurate.
In general, a fixed focal length lens performs better than a zoom lens because of less moving glass elements. (There are exceptions. Some of the zoom lenses focus fast; we will discuss it later in this article)
4. Controls and ergonomics
Controls and ergonomics determine how you can handle and use the lens.
Lens zooming and manual focus rings should be smooth and accurate.
The lens should zoom with optimized ring rotation, so you don’t have to rotate the zoom ring by 360 degrees.
Autofocus and manual override (A/M or M/A) is a great feature. It means you can autofocus the lens. Further, to fine-tune the focus, you can manually focus it.
Vibration reduction/image stabilization helps to compensate for any camera movement. This feature helps to capture a sharp image at low shutter speed.
The weight of the lens is a significant factor in choosing the lens too. Less weight is always preferred because you can carry the lens while hiking or traveling. Similarly, smaller size lenses are right for traveling and packing.
Most of the wildlife and bird photography lenses are a bit heavy and bigger. Of course, there are exceptions. Some of the lenses are equally great in terms of image quality at a much lower weight and size. But the price of those lenses is higher. We will evaluate those lenses as well in the next sections.
NIKKOR AF-S 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR
5. Compatibility with teleconverters
As you will be using the lens for many years, compatibility with a teleconverter is essential.
The lens should be compatible (in terms of Autofocus performance such as accuracy and speed) with the teleconverter.
Teleconverters help to expand the range of the lens. For example, a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens with a 2X converter will be 140-400mm f/5.6. It doubles the focal range of the lens and reduces the maximum aperture of the lens from f/2.8 to f/5.6.
For any lens brand, generally, there are 1.4X, 1.7X, and 2X teleconverters. If the lens is compatible with all 3 teleconverters, it’s excellent! But at least it should be compatible with either one of the teleconverters.
If your lens is compatible with teleconverters, you will be able to extend the focal length of the lens.
6. Weather sealing
The right lens for wildlife photography should be able to take beatings from outdoor weather.
The lens should withstand against rain drizzle, temperature extremes (both hot and cold temperatures), and dust.
Weather sealing should be good enough to stop raindrops and dust from entering into the lens.
The weather sealing of the lens depends on lens construction, protruding lens elements, type of seals at zoom/focus ring, and at the camera mount.
With that said, while photographing outdoors, take care. It is always better to clean the lens after each photography trip. Cleaning of lens contacts, lens mounts, front elements, zoom/focusing rings, and protruding parts is good enough.
A graceful walk of a Tusker
7. Low light performance
Low light focusing performance is dependent on the lens and camera as well. Both camera and lens play an essential role in low light focusing.
Most of the wildlife action happens during early dawn and late dusk. During this edge of day, light conditions are poor.
Good lenses should be fast and accurate enough to focus in low light.
A lens’s low light performance depends on the maximum aperture and moving glass elements. Larger apertures of f/2.8 or f/4 and less moving glass elements mean the lens focuses fast. (Assuming your camera is having excellent low light autofocus performance.)
Now you are aware of what technical factors to look for, let’s learn what types of lenses are available for Wildlife photography.
Different lens types for wildlife photography
Prime Lenses ( Fixed focal length )
Telephoto zoom lens
Micro 4/3rd format lens
Micro Lens
Oriental White Eye Birds
1. Prime lenses
A prime lens has a fixed focal length.
Prime lenses are best for birds and wildlife at a distance.
Because of fewer moving glass elements and maximum aperture, autofocus performance is excellent.
Image quality, sharpness, low light capability, and focus response is excellent for a prime lens. Prime lenses are compatible with teleconverters too.
One caveat is, if the wildlife approaches closer to you, you cannot zoom out and take the picture. Instead, you are stuck with a fixed focal length. In this case, you may want to take a portrait/close up image.
Compositional flexibility is limited when using prime lenses.
Prime lenses are higher in price and can be a bit heavier as compared to zoom lenses.
However, buying the best prime lens is the most significant investment you can make in your photography. These lenses last more than a decade and keep making beautiful images.
Out of your budget, try to spend the maximum amount of money on buying the best prime lens.
Some of the best prime lenses are:
Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR
Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II
Nikon AF-S 500mm f/4E FL ED VR
Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4E FL ED VR
Sony FE 600mm F4 GM OSS
Canon EF300mm f/4L IS USM
Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM
Canon EF600mm f/4L IS II USM
Canon EF400mm f/5.6L USM
Red Munia
2. Telephoto zoom lens
A telephoto zoom lens is a variable focal length lens. You can change the focal length of the lens by rotating the zoom ring on the lens.
Telephoto zoom lenses are best for birds and wildlife at long and short distances.
As compared to prime lenses (fixed focal length), Zoom lenses have more moving glass elements. This affects the focus performance.
However, there are exceptions.
Some of the Telephoto zoom lenses are as fast as prime lenses. We will see which of those lenses are in this article.
Telephoto zoom lenses are compatible with teleconverters. However, teleconverter compatibility is limited. Telephoto zoom lenses are fully compatible with some of the teleconverters, while only partially compatible with other teleconverters.
When choosing a telephoto zoom lens, check the teleconverter compatibility as well.
The main advantage of a zoom lens over a prime lens is variable focal length. Variable focal length helps in photographing farther as well as closer objects. Zoom lenses give freedom in image composition as well.
The size and weight of zoom lenses are relatively manageable as compared to that of prime lenses. Most of the zoom lenses are hand-holdable and travel-friendly.
While selecting the telephoto zoom lens, look out for aperture numbers such as f/2.8 and f/4 (for particular lens you can go up to f/5.6). Try to get the largest possible aperture for the telephoto zoom lens. This helps in autofocus performance, low light capability, Image sharpness, and smooth bokeh.
Some of the best Telephoto zoom lenses are:
NIKKOR AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR
NIKKOR AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR
NIKKOR AF-S 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR
NIKKOR AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
NIKKOR AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR
NIKKOR AF-S 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II
Sony FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS
Super telephoto Zoom 100-400mm G Master lens
Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM
Raindrops and Green Vine Snake
3. Micro Lens
Micro-lenses are a prime lens (fixed focal length).
If insects, snakes, butterflies, or small creatures are your interest, then micro lenses are for you.
The most popular lenses among the photographers are 105mm f/2.8, 180mm f/2.8 and 90mm f/2.8. Among all 105mm f/2.8 lenses are the right balance of image quality, range, size, weight, and price.
Here are recommended micro-lenses from popular brands:
Nikon 105mm f/2.8
Canon 100mm f/2.8
There are additional micro-lenses from third party brands such as Sigma and Tamron.
Sunbird in Flight
4. Micro 4/3rd Format lens
Micro 4/3rd format lenses are a bit different. The cameras with the Micro 4/3rd system have a smaller sensor size.
For example, a full-frame 100mm lens will become 150mm (1.5 X) on the crop sensor (small camera sensor body). Whereas on the micro 4/3rd system cameras, a 100mm lens will become 200mm (2 X).
Micro 4/3rd systems have their benefits such as size, compactness, weather sealing, and convenience. With a small sensor, as compared to a full-frame sensor, there is a compromise in terms of image quality and dynamic range. Lenses for the Micro 4/3rd system are built well. The quality of the glass, weather sealing, and ergonomics are excellent too.
In wildlife photography, weather conditions will be hostile. You have to hike along with your gear. Size and weather resistance of the equipment matters.
Hence specifically for wildlife, photography Micro 4/3rds is an excellent and unique option to consider.
Some of the best micro 4/3rds lenses for wildlife photography are:
Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 40-150mm F2.8 PRO
Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO
Elephant Scape
Process for selecting the best lens for wildlife photography
As you are now aware of what type of lenses are available for wildlife photography, let’s look into the process of lens selection.
These steps will help you to select the best lens for wildlife photography.
Identify your photography requirement
Find out what your area of interest is and identify what you want to photograph. You may want to photograph birds or big animals or small creatures. The key is to find out your objects of interest.
Evaluate the lens
Once you have found out what do you love photographing the most, select the lens accordingly. For example, if you love photographing birds, then select a telephoto (prime lens). If you like photographing butterflies, insects, and snakes, then select a micro-lens.
Rent the lens
Before you buy the lens, rent it. Also, try renting similar options in the lens. For example, if you are looking for a telephoto (prime) lens for birds, then rent and use the lenses such as 600mm f/4, 500mm f/4, and 400mm f/2.8 and see which lens you find comfortable while using.
If you want to photograph wild animals, try using lenses such as 70-200 f/2.8, 300mm f/4, and 200-500 f/5.6. By using the lens, you will be able to evaluate it better.
Buy the lens
Once you have evaluated and tried the lens, it is time to buy the lens. Generally, there is no discount for good lenses. Also, it is better to buy the new lens as you are going to use the lens for a long time (likely, more than a decade). Once you buy the lens, make sure all the functions work correctly.
Make sure you have a lens warranty in place, and you are good to go!
Now it’s your turn
What is your favorite object? Which lens have you selected?
If you have any questions regarding lens selection for wildlife photography, please let us know in the comments below.
The post How to Choose the Best Lens for Wildlife Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Shreyas Yadav.
6th annual Fine Art Photography Awards winners and finalists
Last week, winners and finalists of the 6th annual Fine Art Photography Awards (FAPA) were announced. Dutch portrait artist Ewa Cwikla won $ 3,000 in prize money and the title of Professional Fine Art Photographer of the Year for her photo ‘Candy Smoke.’ Greek photographer Ioanna Natsikou was declared Amateur Fine Art Photographer of the Year. She received $ 2,000 in prize money for her series ‘Interlude in the Blue.’
The competition received 4,300 entries from 89 countries across 20 categories including abstract, architecture, night photography, and travel. Winners and nominees were selected by a panel of international judges including Marietta Varga, Per Schorn, Simon Åslund, Julien Palast, Ekaterina Busygina, Per Kasch, Dainius Sciuka, Aleksei Boiko, and Salvatore Matarazzo.
FAPA is now accepting entries for their 7th annual competition. In the spirit of discovering emerging talent, per the organization’s press release, it is open to professional and amateur photographers from all countries. This year’s full professional winners gallery and full amateur winners gallery are currently available to view on FAPA’s official site.
Grand Prize, Professional Fine Art Photographer of the Year: ‘Candy Smoke’ by Ewa Cwikla
Artist statement:
Amateur Fine Art Photographer of the Year: ‘Interlude in Blue (Series)’ by Ioanna Natsikou
Artist Statement: ‘Interlude in Blue’ is a body of work that portrays the female figure in personal spaces enclosed in a world of silence and desire, touching upon themes of loneliness, isolation and alienation.
Through the repetitive process of ‘iteration,’ the viewer can see all these phenomenologically identical, yet different unidentified female characters unfold; an attempt to puzzle out, discover and understand the enigma and the complexity of identity; how many different personas can I/we be on the ‘stage’ of everyday life?
This series seeks to engage the viewer in a private world of reverie and self-absorption.
1st Place Winner, Professional Category, Abstract: Micro Images of Teepee Canyon Agate (Series) by Randy Fullbright
Artist Statement: These images are an exploration of the varied and incredible patterns In Tepee Canyon Agate from South Dakota USA using a 10 power microscope objective and focus stacking to gain depth of field. I have always been amazed by the patterns in agate that are not visible to the human eye. When I discovered Micro Photography it opened up an entirely new range of possibilities and discoveries with my photography.
1st Place Winner, Professional Category, Architecture: ‘Building Constructs (Series)’ by Tom Leighton
Artist Statement: In my ‘Building Constructs’ series of work, my intention is to focus in on individual buildings, their architectural form and defining features, accentuating these elements through distortion and manipulation. This allows a freedom from concern for logistics and practicality, but the images are nevertheless a tribute to the minds that go into creating functioning superstructures, a celebration of the boundaries being pushed by the evermore gravity-defying architecture of the world.
1st Place Winner, Professional Category, Wildlife/Animals: ‘Rays of Light’ by Nadia Aly
Artist Statement: Rays of Light showcases the astonishing annual aggregation of mobula rays off the coat of Baja Mexico.
1st Place Winner, Professional Category, Fashion: ‘The Fire Within (Series)’ by Tonya Polskaya
Artist Statement: ‘The fire within’ is a story about emotions penetrating physical structure and setting blood vessels aflame. It is about adaptation to one’s self and the new habitat. The flame is a metaphor of purification and rebirth, and ascendance to one’s true self.
Professional Nominee, Photojournalism: ‘Under High Tension (Series)’ by Alexandra Berger
Artist Statement: The intention behind this series is not to show crime or poverty, this is obvious. The idea behind these photos is to generate empathy and understanding for people in other life situations and to break down prejudices against others.The series shows the daily life of a family living illegally in the electromagnetic field of overhead power lines in Playa del Carmen / Mexico.
Flor and Romero, originally from Chiapas, have arrived 5 years ago, together with their 6 sons to ‘Las Torres’ a squatter settlement under high voltage towers in Playa del Carmen / Mexico. It is an area that has been invaded by 700 families in the right-of-way of the overhead electric power lines and spreads over 10 km. The series shows moments of their lives under this ‘charged’ circumstances.
A life in a legal blackhole which makes it one of the most dangerous parts of the city, neither police nor ambulances dare to enter. Due to the Mexican law, that forbids housing under the electromagnetic field of the high voltage cables, the government doesn’t provide basic requirements, like water, electricity and a sewerage system.
Giving up is not an option.
Professional Nominee, Travel: ‘Way Back’ by Tuan Nguyen Tan
Artist Statement: The Cham girl is returning home with herds of sheep in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam.
2nd Place Winner, Amateur Category, Abstract: ‘Mar De Plástico’ by Agustin Busselo Ortega
Artist Statement: The presence of plastic in the sea represents a serious problem in our habitat. The purpose of this photography is to represent the sea through plastic sheets, but from a creative point of view.
Amateur Nominee, Fine Art: ‘Poetry of Death Valley (Series)’ by Marek Boguszak
Artist Statement: Poetry of rocks and sand in Death Valley.
2nd Place Winner, Amateur Category, Landscape: ‘The Girl on the Icelandic Horse’ by Lars Roed
Artist Statement: The sun had set in the Wadden Sea. Suddenly out of nowhere the girl came on the Icelandic horse and rode out into the sea where there was low tide. Beautiful picture with insight into the infinitely changing moods and expressions of the Wadden Sea in Denmark.
Amateur Nominee, Nature: ‘Tears of the Nature (Series)’ by Anna Kropf
Artist Statement: The magic influence of the Water in the Nature.
3rd Place Winner, Amateur Category, Night Photography: ‘Rushing (Series)’ by Dominique Weiss
Artist Statement: Dominique created this series out of her passion for the dramatic landscapes of the Swiss alps. To her understanding, it is crucial to persevere this region that gives us air to breathe, water to nourish our bodies and beauty to caress our souls.
Rushing portrays the speed with which our competitive society is racing through their lives. In rush we are barely able to hear our surroundings. In rush we are barely able to see what is in front of us. In rush we are barely able to comprehend what our behavior causes. Rushing not only blurs our sight, but all of our senses. We are numbly rushing into an unknown future…
For this series Dominique travelled across Switzerland portraying dramatic landscape scenes to encourage people to see beyond their accelerated every day life routines. She suggests it is time to implement more harmony into our lives and respectfully treat them as one of our most important relationships.
1st Place Winner, Amateur Category, Street Photography: ‘The Pursuit of Being and Belonging (Series)’ by Manuel Martins
Artist Statement: Hi, my name is Manuel Martins, I’m a 27 years old Portuguese national living in Lisbon. With my street photography I like to create beautiful, surreal or even puzzling constructs, that have reality, it’s scenarios from our daily lives and light and it’s absence as prime matters. Along with this I also try to distill who I am, my life experiences, my feelings and perceptions of reality into the photograph itself.
By nature I’m an introverted and shy person, and for those same reasons, I’ve never been able to fully understand society and find my place in it. That changed though, on the first time I picked up a camera and found street photography. This series then, ‘The pursuit of being and belonging,’ is my homage to street photography and what it means to me.
Because when I’m out, slowly walking the pavement step by step, I not only pursue photographs, but also a way of belonging in our world, by being there with the camera on my hand, to tell my story and to show the hidden gems of our day-to-day world, those that many manage to disregard and so hopefully, bring some magic back to the viewer’s lives.
The post Instaproofs Review: An All-In-One Platform to Sell Your Photography Online appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.
Looking for a better way to share and sell your photos online? Then Instaproofs might be the right solution for you.
Whether you do in-person sales or online, Instaproofs can help you organize your sessions, sell products and prints, and even help with contracts. Read more about the platform in today’s article review.
What is Instaproofs?
Instaproofs is a subscription-based platform online that helps photographers use online galleries to sell products, prints, and digitals to their clients worldwide.
They have been around for 15 years and over time have improved their platform to offer beautifully-designed galleries, easy user-friendly cart systems, and create more avenues for photographers to earn more after completing their work.
The galleries are compatible with all devices.
They are similar to other services like Pixieset and require a monthly subscription. Although, they do have a free plan available for those who use online galleries for in-person sales and can work within the 3GB limit.
Here are the current monthly options for Instaproofs that you can choose from:
Key features
The key features that Instaproofs offers are:
Online gallery platform and shopping cart with custom pricing and products
Cloud storage
Contacts and invoicing
Mobile apps
Digital delivery
Reports
Multi-lingual
Marketing tools and email tracking
Managed accounts for multiple users
Migration services from previous online gallery service (extra charge for this $ 3 per gallery).
Lab fulfillment services
Watermarking
Quick payments through Stripe
The service also offers a 14-day free trial so you can poke around and see if it’s right for you and your business.
In-Depth Review
Galleries
These three the are the biggest features that Instaproofs provides. Whether you are a digital delivery photographer or focus more on prints, there are endless features that you can take advantage of to get you more sales.
The gallery homepage can feature all of your galleries or you can choose to hide some. Add passwords and require emails to sign in. It’s fully customizable for each gallery depending on your needs.
The online galleries support high-resolution images up to 50MB per image making sure that you’re able to offer your clients the best image quality available for their images. You’re also able to upload smaller resolution images if you’re looking to present the images during in-person sales. This can save you storage space the monthly plan.
The dashboard will let you customize the views and windows. You can see right away how much storage space you have left, how many galleries are active, and the number of images you have uploaded.
The galleries also have the option of choosing the image you want to be featured for the entire gallery as well as category featured images which can be different. You’re also able to upload the HTML code for a video slideshow if you’ve created one – all to captivate your clients right from the start.
The star shows the images you have chosen as featured and will show as the cover for the gallery.
When setting up your galleries, you have all the options in the same window so that you can set up the purchase minimum, slideshow music, whether you want the photos to display mostly horizontal or vertical, choose a price list for the gallery, and categories.
Currently, they’ve added the option to upload to multiple categories simultaneously for faster uploads making it easier to organize and categorize the images for your clients.
Adding custom links and music to the slideshows is also a great way to engage your clients during the selling process. Another great plugin: Direct uploading from Aperture, Lightroom, or FTP applications.
Not into selling digitals? You don’t have to. The galleries offer the photographer to have a minimum purchase amount, offer only web-sized digitals or only watermarked digital images.
You have full control over how you want to set up each individual gallery. You can give your clients permission to hide images, download all, or none, and a customized link. You can also have guests who enter the link to only be able to purchase images and not download at all. Each gallery is personalized as much or as little as you want.
From the galleries, you’re able to create mobile apps that hold 50 images from a particular gallery. You can also make one without a pre-existing gallery, where the client can save the mobile app onto their smartphone and have 50 images to view and share on the go! Especially useful to do sneak peeks/previews.
Shopping cart and selling
Instaproofs’ motto is “Sell more prints” and that is exactly what they aim for. More than a digital delivery service, they make it really user friendly for photographers to set up price sheets, sales, coupons, and products to the storefront for clients to purchase.
You can also choose to create add-ons so that you can maximize the sale. Rather than just selling a print, you can also add on the frame and offer your clients more value for their purchases.
When creating the shopping cart, you can also use lab pricing and a certain markup percentage to make it easier to set pricing. This can be really useful for beginner photographers who are getting into selling products and don’t really know how to go about pricing their prints and products.
From the cart, you can activate whether you’ll want to sell prints in black and white and/or sepia. This is a preference and each photographer can set up the cart as they wish.
There are many features to the shopping cart that gives the photographer full control of what to sell, how many, bulk pricing, options for black and white or sepia, cropping to help clients crop properly, lab fulfillment, pricing sheets, discounts, sales, coupons, promotions, and much more.
It’s a complete selling platform for you and user friendly for your clients. You will need a Stripe account in order to activate the storefront in order to get paid.
These are the professional lab partners that offer print fulfillment through the online gallery.
Contracts and invoicing
Instaproofs have added contracts and invoicing to their services and allows photographers to create their own contracts or use a pre-made template.
Choose templates for weddings, portraits, model releases for both adults and minors, independent contractor agreement (freelance work or similar) or you can make your own.
Just fill in the fields and required information, then choose to save a draft or finalize and send it to your client for signature.
Right from the contracts window, you are also able to create an invoice for your client by filling in the information fields for the invoice.
You can also choose an online gallery for the invoice in the event that you’ve already made a gallery.
Choose to attach the contract to the invoice, add an auto-reminder, and save your invoices as templates for future use.
Reports
Another great feature for photographers is to get reports of what you’re selling, products most purchased, email deliveries, and much more. This can be really great to see how your business is doing year to year.
Pros and cons
The biggest pro for signing up with Instaproofs is the number of features it offers photographers all from the same platform. Meaning, you don’t have to use different services to send gallery invites, emails including cart and expiration reminders.
The service allows photographers to ultimately customize the entire interface from adding your logo to the galleries, custom links, custom products, and print options, add-ons, and pricing sheets.
Instaproofs also has a referral program that gives existing users the opportunity to get more storage (2gb per referral) when a photographer signs up and says you sent them. It’s a great incentive if you’re a satisfied customer.
The con may be the price and limited galleries in the free and basic options.
There is also a commission fee for the free option and limited cloud storage.
We’ve rounded other top services so you can compare them and determine which is best for your business.
Instaproofs leads in cloud storage in the bottom level monthly subscriptions but doesn’t offer an unlimited version for companies with a higher volume. Which is a big con if you’re a multi-photographer studio that needs unlimited galleries and storage space for high resolution selling and viewing.
Sharing to social media or via email is really quick and easy for your clients.
Also, it’s important to note that Instaproofs isn’t an online archiving site and so if you’re looking for a service that backs up your digital files, you might want to look elsewhere. It’s primarily for uploading client photos and selling photo products.
Conclusion
Instaproofs has a lot of features that aren’t just bells and whistles. Many of the top photographers like Jonathan Canlas, Laura Murray, and Abby Grace use Instaproofs for their own businesses.
The slideshow feature allows you to set music and wow clients.
Having an all-in-one platform for both product-based photographers and digital format photographers, with customization in all of their features, gives you a great advantage in generating more sales and offering a beautiful and easy to use interface for your clients to view, enjoy, share, and buy their images.
With a 14 day free trial, you can try it out yourself and see if it’s the right service for you and your photography business.
The post Instaproofs Review: An All-In-One Platform to Sell Your Photography Online appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.
If you’ve never heard of Roland Barthes, congrats – clearly you were never forced to study structuralism, post-structuralism, deconstructionism or semiotics. Lucky you.
It was as a semiologist that Barthes (b 1915 – d 1980) was best known, and in simple terms, semiotics is the study of signs, symbols and their meaning. For obvious reasons, academic texts that deal with semiotics (and structuralism, and post-structuralism, and deconstructivism) tend towards the abstruse. When the king of the deconstructionists Jacques Derrida (of whose work ‘abstruse’ would count as a highly charitable description) passed away in 2004, satirical website The Onion ran a single sentence headline: Jacques Derrida “dies”. That joke (and variations on it) are, trust me, the only funny thing that has ever come out of semiotics, structuralism, post-structuralism or deconstructionism. Reading the work of certain semiologists is like trying to argue with a hungry 3-year old who has an MA.
The reason I’m writing about Roland Barthes on DPReview is that Barthes was fascinated by photography, and wrote one of my all-time favorite books about it – ‘Camera Lucida’, published in 1980. Photography didn’t attract much academic interest until the 1970s and 80s, and ‘Camera Lucida’, alongside Susan Sontag’s ‘On Photography’ is among the most influential (and enjoyable) books of its period to deal with photography as a cultural phenomenon, not just in the obvious way, as an art and practise. You do not need to know anything about philosophy to read ‘Camera Lucida’ and you might actually enjoy it more if you don’t.
Photography is an odd kind of art-form. You can’t ‘read’ a photograph like you can text (which is the kind of thing that annoys the hell out of semiologists), and being by its nature infinitely reproducible, a photograph doesn’t have the uniqueness of a painting. Consider also that to ‘make’ a photograph takes no training. In many circles, photography is still considered the poor cousin of ‘real’ art and it’s easy to understand why. Just remember Kodak’s famous slogan: “You push the button, we do the rest”.
As Louis Daguerre said, the photograph “gives Nature an ability to reproduce herself”
Barthes thought that photography is actually closer to theatre than to painting (because of its direct line of connection to life). He was not a photographer – “too impatient for that” – and had no interest in investigating photography as an activity. He wanted to get to grips with what photographs are and what makes them unique.
In perhaps his most famous statement on photography (made before he wrote ‘Camera Lucida’) he suggests that the photograph is a semiotically unique, paradoxical artifact – unique because it is a “message without a code”. It doesn’t need a code (or shouldn’t) because in theory, the message of a photograph is reality itself. This is the photograph as a purely representational artifact – the product of light rays, entering a camera from the surface of a tiny corner of reality. As Louis Daguerre said, the photograph “gives Nature an ability to reproduce herself”. And he ought to know.
That’s the theory, at least. The problem (the paradox) of course is that despite the fact that a photograph is a mechanically-created object, it’s very hard to imagine a photograph that isn’t highly coded. Everything from how a portrait subject is posed, to the photographers’ choice of background, or camera angle etc., can affect how we feel about a photograph, and ultimately what we take away from it. It’s actually very difficult to conceive of an example of what Barthes calls the ‘brute image’; a hypothetical photograph free from any kind of connoted meaning.
One of a collection of images taken by a relative of my grandmother and grandfather on a honeymoon trip around England in late summer 1939 (you can read more about the project and see more images here).
Because of when they were taken (just weeks before the outbreak of WWII) and how (they were shot on then-rare color film) they’re all rich in what Barthes called ‘Studium’. For me, the ‘punctum’ in this shot is my grandparents’ cat (bottom of the photograph, in front of the tent, facing the camera) which – apparently – traveled with them.
In ‘Camera Lucida’, Barthes suggests that there are two elements to every photograph. Borrowing from latin, he calls these the studium (‘study’ – think application or commitment) and the punctum (‘point’ – think puncture or prick).
In simple terms, the studium is all the information which can be gleaned from a photograph which derives from the cultural context in which it exists. As such, the studium is experienced according to the viewer’s personal, political and cultural viewpoint. A good example of a kind of photography which is rich in studium would be traditional western photojournalism. Assuming you’re familiar with the culture in which they were taken, such photographs are pretty easy to ‘decode’ when we see them in our daily newspapers. We know what they are ‘of’.
The punctum, on the other hand, is an element (or elements) of a photograph which don’t necessarily contribute to their overall meaning or intended message, but which grab or ‘prick’ us for some reason. Barthes gives the example of a 1924 photograph by Lewis Hine of a developmentally disabled child in a New Jersey institution, with a bandage on her finger. For Barthes, the ‘punctum’ is the bandage – an “off-center detail” which catches his attention and which provokes a “tiny shock”. The studium, in contrast, is “liking, not […] loving” – a “slippery, irresponsible interest one takes in [things] one finds ‘all right’ “. The bandage has nothing to do with the studium of the Hine photograph, but it interests him more.
Most of us take pictures of places, people and things, without spending a lot of time thinking about their content beyond whether it appeals to us aesthetically
This might all sound very abstract, but it’s actually a really useful way of thinking about how we take photographs. Try categorizing your own work by Barthes’ definitions. Are you someone whose photography is all about the studium? I suspect that most of us are. Most of us take pictures of places, people and things, without spending a lot of time thinking about their content beyond whether it appeals to us aesthetically. We can learn from photographs like this, but it’s generally (literally) surface-level stuff.
The punctum is more valuable, says Barthes, because it’s unexpected. Uncoded, and more interesting. And to return to the comparison with painting, a punctum of the kind that Barthes describes could only exist in a photograph, because of the unique way in which photographs are created.
By the time I was able to really know my grandparents they were old (and my grandfather died when I was in my early teens). For me, working on these images offered an amazing opportunity to encounter them them as young people. In Barthes words, I was “gradually moving back in time” with these people, both of whom are now dead.
Thanks to a DPReview reader, I even know what happened to the car.
Even in translation. Barthes is a great writer. He’s smart (obviously) but also funny. He’s wonderfully catty about types of photographs and photographers that he doesn’t like, and he correctly identifies one of the most creatively destructive traps that you can fall into as a photographer: thinking that just because you took a picture of something, it must be important. Ouch.
To me, the main appeal of ‘Camera Lucida’ is that it’s much more than just an academic dissertation – it’s a deeply personal, very emotional book. Less philosophy in many places, and more biography.
The latter part of the book, especially, contains some quite beautiful writing. This is highly unusual in a work of philosophy (trust me). Perhaps the reason for the switch to a less academic and more personal mode of writing is that while he was working on ‘Camera Lucida’, Barthes’ beloved mother Henriette died. And after she died he went looking for her. Not literally, but emotionally, hoping to find the essence of her in family photographs.
He talks about this process in terms of a “painful labor”, “gradually moving back in time with her, looking for the truth of the face I had loved”. He describes “straining towards the essence of her identity, […] struggling among images partially true, and therefore totally false”. What he was finding in the photographs, to his frustration, were merely “fragments”.
And then, finally, he made a breakthrough. He found what he was looking for in a single photograph of his mother as a young girl. Among a mass of pictures of Henriette as an adult, it was in this photograph of a five year-old child – a child of course who he never met in life – that he truly recognised the person he had known and loved.
Barthes doesn’t exactly admit defeat in ‘Camera Lucida’, but he does concede that maybe things are a little more complicated than he once thought.
In the final chapters of ‘Camera Lucida’ (it’s a very short book, most chapters are little more than a single page) Barthes revisits his central premise of the studium and the punctum, and revises it, suggesting a third element. Specifically, another type of punctum, not of form, “but of intensity”. This second punctum is Time.
In ‘Camera Lucida’, Barthes the famous philosopher gives way to Barthes the grieving son. Yes, much of the first half of the book is more or less standard fare for someone with his academic preoccupations (and indeed it picks up from his earlier work on the same subject, exploring the photograph’s potential as a purely representational object) but he’s not just flexing his intellectual muscles for the sake of it. Barthes is writing about time (he has a wonderful description of cameras as ‘clocks for seeing’), memory, and death. When it comes to the ultimate challenge of ‘penetrating’ photographs to find their meaning, Barthes doesn’t exactly admit defeat in ‘Camera Lucida’, but he does concede that maybe things are a little more complicated than he once thought.
A girl bathing by Stiffkey bridge, in Norfolk. August 1939. Looking at this picture I can’t help thinking who she is, what kind of life she had, and whether she’s still alive (if so, she must be in her late 80s or 90s now).
‘Camera Lucida’ may not make you a better photographer (it might actually make you pause before picking up your camera again!) but it will probably make you a more thoughtful one. There is a reasonably good chance, too, that it will make you cry. There’s a a lot of post-war Continental philosophy that might have the same effect, but for very different reasons.
I hope that after reading my incredibly shallow analysis of it, you do read ‘Camera Lucida’. And if you do, I hope that it will remind you of the unique role that photography has in our lives, and of its power. Photographs let us travel back in time, and in that way they enable us to maintain relationships with people that we’ve lost. In the end, it’s a book about love.
Is there a particular book which made a difference to your life as a photographer? We’d love to hear from you – and you might even get featured on the DPReview homepage. Leave us a short note in the comments and if you have a longer story to tell, send it to us, and we’ll take it from there.
The post How to Dramatically Shape the Light and Mood Using Adjustment Brushes in Lightroom (video) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
In this video from PiXimperfect, you’ll learn how to dramatically shape the light and mood of a photo using Adjustment Brushes in Lightroom.
Throughout this tutorial you’ll learn:
the difference between local adjustments and global adjustments
how to auto-set particular sliders
ways to expand the tonal range
how to avoid edge glow when using particular sliders
about the tone curve and how to use it effectively
valuable shortcuts to help you see when you are creating clipping (blown-out, and underexposed areas with no detail), to view before and after shots, to select the adjustment brush and more
how to use the HSL panel to great effect
ways to use split toning
We’d love to see the images you edit after watching this tutorial. Please share them with us in the comments section.
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How to Jump from Lightroom to Photoshop and Back Again When Editing Photos (video)
Answers to Your Most Common Lightroom Questions
How to Make Your Photos Pop in Lightroom (With Just 4 Quick Edits!)
Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips
How to Make Your Photos Awesome in Lightroom or Photoshop Camera RAW
The post How to Dramatically Shape the Light and Mood Using Adjustment Brushes in Lightroom (video) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
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