The Samsung NX mini is truly tiny, offering a 20MP 1″ sensor inside a highly compact body which features a 180-degree tilting LCD and extensive connectivity features. The mini’s touch-sensitive display is the camera’s primary interface for changing shooting settings, and an interchangeable lens mount should make this the ideal combination of versatility and point-and-shoot simplicity. Read our review to find out how it compares
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Home is where the heart is. Home is wherever you lay your hat. And home is a great place to snap some awesome photos!
We’ve gathered up five inexpensive and impermanent ways to transform little home spaces into the perfect settings for pictures.
You don’t need a lot of square footage. You just need a little creativity.
So whether you want your own homemade photography studio or just want to take better photos in your home as it is, these tips will help make your room of choice photo-ready!
Stay in Your PJs and Shoot from Home (…)
Read the rest of Small Spaces Make Super Studios! (519 words)
© Taylor for Photojojo, 2014. |
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[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]
Making a tiny living space comfortable and practical means integrating multi-purpose furniture, custom built-ins and lots of other clever space-saving tricks. These 14 (more) small space hacks include a few DIY projects that can be achieved with components purchased at Ikea.
Starting as a narrow dining table, this ultra-compact kitchen swings open to reveal an induction cooktop, oven, refrigerator and storage space with a sink and a work surface. Slide it under the white table unit when not in use or pull it out into its own little island – perfect for the minimalist cook working in a small space. Check out 15 more modular & multipurpose kitchens for small spaces.
Feng Shui expert Liu Ming created the Mobile Cube to compartmentalize his personal space in a live/work apartment that has to accommodate over 30 students during classes. The entire cube is on wheels, with a lower portion that can contain a bedroom or an office, and a loft that functions as meditation space, a sleeping area or a tea room (as he uses it.) It measures just eight feet square and has hidden stairs that double as drawers, as well as cabinets, closet space and translucent roller shades.
This picnic table offered by a Brazilian furniture store has enough seating for six people, yet folds completely flat against the wall when not in use, opening up the floor for other purposes.
A cluttered closet in a small Brooklyn apartment now has a dedicated space for everything from shoes to handbags courtesy of an IKEA makeover. While the overall size of this closet would be luxurious in most small spaces, the setup could easily be customized to your own needs while maintaining organization.
If you’re an ambitious DIYer, you can attempt your own murphy bed, like this one at a sustainability camp in Maryland. DIY Network has plans for a simpler version, or you can try an Ikea hack with sliding doors over at Instructables.
Making the most of a tiny apartment is all about smart use of space, organization and multi-purpose furniture. Here are 24 examples of clever small-space hacks …
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The Matroshka all-in-one, space-saving furniture set starts out as a compact cube and unpacks into an entire room of furniture, including a bed and dining …
Click Here to Read More »»
A compact space with thirty years’ history as a storage unit is now a sleek, modern apartment outfitted with everything a single occupant needs with the …
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[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]
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The Nikon D810 might seem like an incremental update to the older D800 and D800E but under the hood there are some significant new features. In this article, contributing writer Damien Demolder tells us why the numerous small changes that Nikon has made in the D810 add up to a big difference in the final product. Click through to read his opinion piece.
related news: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
In a unique spin on the typical Gigapan panorama we’ve come to know and love, the company teamed up with NASA on Earth Day this year for something big – an image comprised of self-portraits captured by citizens all over the world. When zoomed out, it resembles an image of Earth from space. The final product has been released, with submissions coming in from every continent. Take a look
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]
Making the most of a tiny apartment is all about smart use of space, organization and multi-purpose furniture. Here are 24 examples of clever small-space hacks that pack in a ton of function while avoiding clutter, like lofted platforms, hidden jewelry storage, fold-down tables and DIY slide-out pantries.
Compact bedroom sets can fit everything you need and more into a tiny room without even taking up the full space. The Matroshka All-in-One furniture set measures just 13 square feet when it’s all packed up, but pulls out into a double bed, bookshelves, a corner couch, a desk, a wardrobe, a dining table, four stools and additional storage. Another option is a couch that cleverly flips up into a bunk bed in one swift motion. Lofted bedroom sets (most often made for kids and teens) are available in a wide variety of colors and styles and often include desks and even extra beds for guests.
When faced with minimal square footage, we tend to focus on floor space and ignore all of the usable real estate on the walls. If you’ve got ceiling height, take advantage of it with lofted designs that lift beds, storage or work spaces, freeing up room on the floor. These designs can be built-in or portable like furniture. A Portland couple with a 704-square-foot home used vertical space to pack in a closet and other storage areas under a lounge and workspace. A bed tucked under the stairs could be a creative way to use what’s often wasted space, and a simple handmade free-standing wooden platform elevates a bed over a dining area.
Keeping bathrooms clutter-free is a challenge when you’re dealing with tons of small items like cosmetics, toiletries, tweezers and bobby pins. Use an IKEA magnetic knife strip to corral metal items, or create a mason jar organizer for cotton balls, makeup brushes and more. An easy way to alter your medicine cabinet to fit more stuff involves simply placing a sheet of precut galvanized steel along its back wall and adding magnetic hooks and containers.
A simple towel bar keeps pot lids out of the way, whether you mount it on the wall or inside a cabinet. Update Julia Child’s classic kitchen pegboard by painting it a custom color and use it for pots, pans, lids, tools and spices. That empty space next to your refrigerator is practically begging to be put to use; a simple DIY pantry on casters hides away a surprising amount of food. And if you’re not up to breaking out the hammer and nails, check out custom cabinet organizers like the Rev-a-Shelf swing-out pantry system.
Hanging clothes out to dry is a design problem with a long history and many solutions, making it all the more rare to see something like this clever …
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The Matroshka all-in-one, space-saving furniture set starts out as a compact cube and unpacks into an entire room of furniture, including a bed and dining …
Click Here to Read More »»
Downsizing your spending can cause your living space to suffer. Here are 15 unique pieces of furniture that will help you upgrade and streamline your place.
Click Here to Read More »»
[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]
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Recently Darren brought to my attention a guy in the UK doing something extraordinary. A project with images so emotion filled and powerful, images that reach into the souls of the people in the photographs and brings them out in the image. I reached out to him and asked him for an interview and he was most gracious to agree!
So I’m proud to share this with you. Jim Mortram and his Small Town Inertia project. The interview is a bit long, but I promise you it’s worth it as we cover a gamut of topics and look through many of his images. If you want to learn about doing photography not as a technician, but as a human being. Photography for the sake of just doing photography and capturing people’s stories – I encourage you to listen.
Watch and learn as Jim and I discuss a ton of different photography related things, and a few more deeper philosophical, life things. There’s some good lessons in here – make sure you watch the whole video. Tell me what nugget of information you get. Here are a few of the topics and highlights of our chat:
“be nice, be attentive, give a damn, listen”
“I talk more than I shoot and I listen more than I shoot” – Jim Mortram
We reference a guy named Simon in the video – here are some images of Simon. You can read about his story on Small Town Inertia here.
Another one of the stories on Jim’s site that touched me was that of David. A man who lost his eyesight in a tragic accident and depended entirely on his elderly mother for everything, and then suddenly she was gone. The story of his struggles are very real and gut wrenching and I was pulled in to read more. Obviously others have too as a fundraiser was done to buy David a book scanner so he could “read” again. See if his image and story speak to you as well – read more on David here (he is in the image the top of the article also)
Final goodbye
Following Mother
Find Jim online and connect with him. Tell him is his images spoke to you as they did to me.
Links to other interviews with Jim:
Read more about respecting the people you photograph here on dPS.
Trailer that we mention in the interview where Simon talks about wanting a camper van (RV) and his eyes light up, bringing me and Jim to tears.
Small Town Inertia : A Prison Without Walls : Teaser_Full from J A Mortram on Vimeo.
A PRISON WITHOUT WALLS
Si shares, in his own words, his ADHD, his experiences of life confined by parameters and self medication, and his endurance, fears and dreams whilst living on the fringe.
‘A prison without walls’ was one of a selection of short documentary films commissioned The New British and screened Friday, 27th of September, 2013 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom.
The post Interview with Jim Mortram – Small Town Inertia by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Nikon’s latest in a series of behind the scenes videos features photographer Joe McNally. An off-camera lighting wizard, McNally shares some useful tips from three different flash scenarios. No diffusion panel? No worries, McNally explains you can get the same results by placing a bed sheet between the flash and the subject. And as natural light began flowing through his studio, like any good photographer, McNally moved his model to make some pictures — without flash, this time. See video
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Many crafters, cooks, and artists want to take high quality photographs of their own creations, whether to feature them in a blog post, offer them for sale online, or just share them with friends. The trick to getting these kinds of product shots easily and reliably is to use a light tent. This article will cover the fundamentals of shooting with a light tent to help you capture bright, high quality product photographs every time.
A light tent or light box is a contraption with translucent sides that diffuses light coming from multiple sources. This allows for even, nearly shadow-less lighting against a simple, solid background.
You can purchase a light tent as part of a kit or you can build your own DIY light tent. If you choose to purchase a light tent kit, it will usually come with one or more light tents, two light bulbs, two light stands, a tripod, and fabric backdrops in various colors. If you build your own light tent, you will also need to purchase two posable light sources, light bulbs, and poster board or fabric for the backdrops. Unsure of which to choose? In a future article I will offer a head-to-head comparison of a popular light tent kit and a DIY tent.
The standard set-up for light tent photography is to place the tent on some kind of table or end table, with the light sources directly opposite each other on each side and the tripod centered in front. Placing the tent up on a table makes it easier to see and maneuver, as well as easier to use your tripod for shooting.
The backdrop is attached at the top inside the tent and should fall freely down into a gentle curve at the back and then across the bottom of the tent. You want to be sure that you backdrop is clean and free of debris and wrinkles. If using a fabric backdrop, be sure to iron it for a completely smooth look. (If you roll your backdrops up on a cardboard tube after shooting, you should be able to keep them wrinkle-free for next time.) Consider keeping a lint roller or small blower handy for dealing with the inevitable dust and debris.
Now you are ready to start photographing! Place your subject carefully inside the tent, and start with it in the exact center. Moving your subject forward or backwards relative to the light can change the lighting and shadows. Experiment to get the look you want. You can also experiment with pointing the lights slightly at an angle, rather than straight on at the tent. Be sure to leave space between your subject and the walls, so that you can zoom in or position your camera to see only the backdrop and not any edges.
Consider the ambient lighting and adjust as needed. I have found very little difference between shooting midday in diffused indoor light and shooting at night with only the lights themselves for light. You do want to avoid direct sunlight shining in or at your tent, as it will be difficult to balance such a powerful light source.
Set your camera securely on the tripod and use either the 2-second timer or a remote shutter release to ensure that you tripod remains steady. (If you are using a lens with image stabilization, vibration reduction, or vibration control, turn the switch to off.) The tripod will allow you to use longer shutter speeds with crisp results.
Begin by shooting in aperture priority mode with an ISO of 100 (or the lowest value for your camera). Choose your aperture based on the look that you want to achieve in the image (a wide aperture like f/1.8 for a narrow depth of field and a lot of blur or a narrow aperture like f/22 for a wide depth of field and crisp focus across the entire subject). Food photographs often utilize wide apertures and selective blur to make food look more appealing, while product shots of crafts and handmade goods look best with a narrow aperture to keep the entire item into focus. IF you want to avoid blur in the foreground (the bit directly in front of your object) – set your focus using the part of your subject that is closest to the camera.
Consider also using exposure compensation to shoot a series of three shots, bracketed at -1, 0, and +1 exposure, so you can see which gives you the best results. (For white backgrounds, you may get better results around +1; while for black backgrounds, you will get better results around -1. If a full stop is too dark or too light, try a half or a third of a stop.)
It can be difficult to get the background of your shots perfectly white or perfectly black while also keeping your subject properly exposed. In those situations, you may want to do some additional post-processing to ensure that your whites stay white and your blacks stay black. The following description relies on tools available in Adobe Photoshop, but you should be able to do many of these same procedures using other software products.
If you are shooting in RAW, adjust the white balance of your image first so that your whites look white and not yellow. Most light bulbs will list the color temperature of the light they produce, which you can use as a guide for setting the white balance. You can also set the white balance manually by shooting a white card and calibrating from that image (or if you know your background is pure white or black use the color picker in the RAW processor to neutalize any tint).
Use your histogram as a guide when processing. While standard photography advice recommends against having your histogram touch the edges of the scale (clipping), this is what you want to achieve in product shots. Clipping your background (whether on the left for black, or on the right for white) will create an entirely homogenous look to your background and focus all attention on your subject.
In Photoshop you can use the Levels tool to adjust either end of the histogram. Holding down the Alt (Option for Mac) key while adjusting the sliders allows you to see which areas of the photograph are being clipped, as shown in the image above. Move the slider in towards the center until the background is uniformly clipped but the subject is not. If your subject is too affected by this action, then you may need to scale back your adjustment.
If you are having trouble achieving a uniformly white background on your product shots, consider adding a thin border to your final image. While a not-quite-white background, on a shot displayed against a pure white background on a web page runs the risk of looking dingy. However, a slightly grey background with a black border can make the background shade appear intentional.
Cheers! Do you use a light tent in your photography? Have a helpful tip for shooting with one? Share your thoughts and photographs in the comments below.
Here’s a final image from the vase of flowers in the first image at the top of the article.
The post How to Use a Light Tent for Small Product Photography by Katie McEnaney appeared first on Digital Photography School.
[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]
Life is an adventure for tiny wooden figures navigating the urban world in this miniature art installation series by Joe Iurato. The New Jersey-based street artist creates small spray-painted wood cutouts that tell the story of his life, from skateboarding as a kid to becoming a father himself. The little people lounge on rusting metal gates, cling precariously to the edges of overpasses, lunge to reach crosswalk buttons and spray-paint their own works of art.
No bigger than fifteen inches in size, the figures are created using layers of hand-cut paper and spray paint to create texture and form in a modern adaptation of an old-fashioned printing process. The artist places them around the city and leaves them for others to notice or overlook, depending on how observant they may be when they pass.
“My art is nothing more than the exploration and documentation of personal experiences,” says Iurato. “The pieces form an abstract of my life. They are the questions I have, the conclusions drawn, the love, disgust, joy and sadness contained. Essentially, I paint what I know, or what it is I want to know, playfully or painfully.”
“However big or small, the works are often created in public spaces and left to interact with the environment and community. Like life itself, the nature of public art is one of transience. Each piece mirrors the unpredictability of existence and hopes to establish an intimate connection with the viewer in the here-and-now.”
Thomas Doyle creates intricate miniature sculptures under glass that capture disturbing and transformative moments in human life.
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Just last week, real Banksy art was offered for sale in Central Park to an uninterested crowd, with only a few passers by unwittingly picking up signed pieces …
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Those red pins marking the city center on Google Maps become 20-foot-tall, real-life urban installations in the ‘Maps’ series by Aram Bartholl.
Click Here to Read More »»
[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]
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