Please remember that we are meeting at my place tonight so that we can safely walk around the neighborhood taking photographs at night. I am grilling hamburgers, hot dogs, and meatless burgers. I bought potato salad. I also bought pop. There will be plenty to eat. I will start grilling at 6. See you then.
My address is 6646 Kingsbridge Drive, Sylvania, OH, 43560. My phone number is 419-340-4764 in case you get lost. There are two For Sale signs in front of my building. One of them is a Coldwell Banker Reality and the other is For Sale by owner so you know you are at the right place. Please park on the street and then walk to the back of the building where I will be grilling. You can go back and get your cameras from your car after dinner.
See you soon.
Seder
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
An introduction to HDR photography
All cameras are limited in their ability to capture detail across a wide range of brightness values. The range of brightness values that a camera captures detail in is its dynamic range. In general, most digital cameras have about an 8 stop dynamic range. This is debatable though as it is really governed by how much noise you are willing to put up with. The darkest tones in a digital image are always the noisiest. So, your measure of dynamic range depends on whether or not you want to include the noisiest values recorded. Any case, there are innumerable situations in which the camera is not able to capture detail across the entire range of tones that we would like it to.
A classic example would be trying to take a photo of your living room in which you retain full detail in the scene through the windows and inside the room. Unless you are shooting on a very overcast day and your house is extremely well lit, the contrast of the scene is simply too great for the camera to capture detail throughout. This leads to compromises. You could expose for the windows and lose detail in the room, expose for the room and lose detail in the windows, or split the difference and lose some detail in both. None will result in the image that you really want.
In the past, I would suggest that you take two photos; one exposed for the windows and one exposed for room. You could then mask the two together. Depending on the image, this could take a great deal of time. However, you can get really great results doing this. Another problem with this technique is light spill. I you have some light source creating a gradient of light across the floor or wall, it is very hard to mask that in such a way that it will look natural.
Enter HDR. HDR is an acronym for High Dynamic Range. An HDR file is made by combining the detail from multiple exposures into one 32bit image containing far more information than a single shot could. Basically, you take the same photo multiple times while varying the exposure between each shot. This insures that you have data over a larger range than you could capture with a single shot.
This expanded range of tones contained in an HDR file is then mapped down to a range that you can work with in your image editor. I would suggest you tone map it down to a 16 bit per channel image.
How to shoot a scene to be combined into an HDR image
Let me begin by saying that this technique is only applicable to a scene of high contrast such as your living room during the day. Other examples would be a scene with containing deep shadows and open sunlight. HDR imaging also lends itself to the night photography very well as it allows you to retain detail in those areas that are not directly lit.
How do you know if the scene is high enough in contrast to warrant HDR techniques? If you have significant data climbing the left side of the histogram when you properly place your highlights as far to the right wall as possible without touching, then you should consider HDR techniques.
I you should begin by determining your initial exposure for the highlights that you wish to maintain detail in. Then change your shutter speed to allow in one stop more light. Repeat this until you are certain that you have captured all the detail in the shadows that you wish to maintain. Basically, the last histogram should show a ton of data climbing the right wall and nothing should be on the left wall. In fact, you should have a sizeable gap between the left wall and where the data begins. This will insure that the darkest areas of the image are recorded with ample light and will have little or no noise in the resulting combined image. I would suggest at least 5 shots. I think I have done up to 10. It can't hurt you to take too many. You can always clip some unwanted data when you tone map the HDR image down.
Here is a really great video on exposing for HDR by the makers of HDR Expose.
HDR photography is an advanced technique and accordingly requires good technique.
Things to keep in mind when shooting your images:
●You need to use a tripod. I have taken images without a tripod and then tried to combine them into a HDR image using multiple different programs with no success.
●You should set your white balance manually so that it doesn’t change between shots. I suggest you use the daylight setting when shooting at night. This insures that the funky colors of lights are recording as funky colors.
●Focus once and then don’t refocus. If you don’t have the best vision, you can always allow auto focus to determine the focus for the first image and then turn if off. If you are using a compact digital camera that doesn’t allow you to manual focus, then just be sure that it achieves focus at the same distance each time.
●Capture RAW files if your camera supports them. If not, capture using the highest quality JPEG option.
●Use a remote release or self timer to trigger your camera. If you shake your camera when pressing the shutter release button, then you risk blurry images and images that don’t register correctly.
●Use a lenshood to reduce the chance of lens flare
●Turn on your camera long exposure noise reduction feature. You are likely going to end up with some longer exposure times. This feature helps keep your images as noise free as possible
●Use manual exposure mode. You will need to change your shutter speed rather than your aperture for each shot. Manual mode will allow you to do this. If you want to try this with a compact camera that lacks manual exposure capability, then you have to use exposure compensation to vary your exposures. This should still work fine even if it changes the aperture as compact cameras always have great depth of field due to their small sensor and optical system.
●Use your lowest ISO. Since this technique requires that you take multiple exposures, it really lends itself to non-moving subject. Thus, the long shutter speeds necessitated by using a low ISO isn’t an issue. This will keep noise levels down even further.
Creating an HDR image and tone mapping
There are a number of programs available to create an HDR image from your multiple exposures. I suggest you start with Photoshop CS2 or CS3 if you already have it. If you don’t, try one (or all) of the free programs. They do a great job without all the bells and whistles that you may not need or want initially (or ever for that matter). Each program uses its own algorithms for tone mapping. It has been my experience that some types of images work better with some than others. I have categorized them by cost:
Free programs:
●Picturenaut
Freeware. This a full featured HDR generator with tone mapping capabilities. Most featured of the free programs.
Here is little write up on the application which includes a video tutorial.
Here is a comparison between Picturenaut and Photoshop.
●FDR Tools Basic. Freeware. This a free version of the extremely full featured FDR Tools Advanced. As such, it is very basic. Just enough to let you see the possibilities. No options to speak of in terms of tone mapping. Very easy to use though.
●EasyHDR Basic. This a free version of the extremely full featured EasyHDR Pro. Offers some tone mapping controls. Only supports JPEGs.
For a fee programs:
●Adobe Photoshop CS2-CS5. I begin with Photoshop as many of you already have it. Navigate to File > Automate > Merge to HDR. Once you generate the HDR image, four different methods of tone mapping become available when you opt to go down to 16 bit or 8 bits per channel. The Local Adaptation options offers the most control. Don’t be put off by the initially terrible preview. Enable the advanced options and you are presented with a curve. Begin by setting your black and white point. It will already look much better. Generally, your image will benefit from bringing down the three quarter tones. Then edit the rest of the curve as desired. There are numerous more options for tone mapping in CS5 than in previous versions.
Here is a nice little write-up on what all the new sliders in CS5 mean and do.
Here is a summary of the new sliders in CS5.
Video on how to use the Merge to HDR Pro feature in Photoshop CS5. Her shooting advice is not so good though; she encourage you to shoot in 2 stop increments and suggests it is okay to hand hold the camera. Don't do either.
●EasyHDR Pro. 25 English Pounds. (around $40 dollars). Full featured program with a nice user interface. Trial version is available.
●FDR Tools Advanced. USD 57.69 Full featured program. It is supposed to support masking which would allow it to be used with scenes with moving subjects. Haven’t had a need for that yet, so I don’t know how well it works.
●PHotomatix. USD $99. Well established and full featured application. Good website. Some good resources. Feature rich. Also features the ability to tone map just two images together. This is the most popular third party HDR application. They offer 75% for students and educators.
●HDR Expose. USD $149. They offer an academic discount, but I don't know what it is. It claims to be designed for realistic looking HDR images. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I am going to as I am so impressed by their video tutorials. You can check them out here.
●HDR Efex Pro. Nik Software the maker of many fine plugins such as Nik Sharpener, just released this program. I haven't had a chance to play with it yet.
Software summary:
While I have used Photomantix for HDR, I generally use Photoshop CS4 and CS5 as it is the program that my students are most likely to have or have access to. PS is really quite capable of stunning results. It gets a bad rap for its HDR capabilities, but I think that is because you have to be able to edit the tones using a Curve and many people can't pull it off. Photomantix is simpler to use. If you don't have PS or just want to try a free program, I would go with Picturenaut.
A classic example would be trying to take a photo of your living room in which you retain full detail in the scene through the windows and inside the room. Unless you are shooting on a very overcast day and your house is extremely well lit, the contrast of the scene is simply too great for the camera to capture detail throughout. This leads to compromises. You could expose for the windows and lose detail in the room, expose for the room and lose detail in the windows, or split the difference and lose some detail in both. None will result in the image that you really want.
In the past, I would suggest that you take two photos; one exposed for the windows and one exposed for room. You could then mask the two together. Depending on the image, this could take a great deal of time. However, you can get really great results doing this. Another problem with this technique is light spill. I you have some light source creating a gradient of light across the floor or wall, it is very hard to mask that in such a way that it will look natural.
Enter HDR. HDR is an acronym for High Dynamic Range. An HDR file is made by combining the detail from multiple exposures into one 32bit image containing far more information than a single shot could. Basically, you take the same photo multiple times while varying the exposure between each shot. This insures that you have data over a larger range than you could capture with a single shot.
This expanded range of tones contained in an HDR file is then mapped down to a range that you can work with in your image editor. I would suggest you tone map it down to a 16 bit per channel image.
How to shoot a scene to be combined into an HDR image
Let me begin by saying that this technique is only applicable to a scene of high contrast such as your living room during the day. Other examples would be a scene with containing deep shadows and open sunlight. HDR imaging also lends itself to the night photography very well as it allows you to retain detail in those areas that are not directly lit.
How do you know if the scene is high enough in contrast to warrant HDR techniques? If you have significant data climbing the left side of the histogram when you properly place your highlights as far to the right wall as possible without touching, then you should consider HDR techniques.
I you should begin by determining your initial exposure for the highlights that you wish to maintain detail in. Then change your shutter speed to allow in one stop more light. Repeat this until you are certain that you have captured all the detail in the shadows that you wish to maintain. Basically, the last histogram should show a ton of data climbing the right wall and nothing should be on the left wall. In fact, you should have a sizeable gap between the left wall and where the data begins. This will insure that the darkest areas of the image are recorded with ample light and will have little or no noise in the resulting combined image. I would suggest at least 5 shots. I think I have done up to 10. It can't hurt you to take too many. You can always clip some unwanted data when you tone map the HDR image down.
Here is a really great video on exposing for HDR by the makers of HDR Expose.
HDR photography is an advanced technique and accordingly requires good technique.
Things to keep in mind when shooting your images:
●You need to use a tripod. I have taken images without a tripod and then tried to combine them into a HDR image using multiple different programs with no success.
●You should set your white balance manually so that it doesn’t change between shots. I suggest you use the daylight setting when shooting at night. This insures that the funky colors of lights are recording as funky colors.
●Focus once and then don’t refocus. If you don’t have the best vision, you can always allow auto focus to determine the focus for the first image and then turn if off. If you are using a compact digital camera that doesn’t allow you to manual focus, then just be sure that it achieves focus at the same distance each time.
●Capture RAW files if your camera supports them. If not, capture using the highest quality JPEG option.
●Use a remote release or self timer to trigger your camera. If you shake your camera when pressing the shutter release button, then you risk blurry images and images that don’t register correctly.
●Use a lenshood to reduce the chance of lens flare
●Turn on your camera long exposure noise reduction feature. You are likely going to end up with some longer exposure times. This feature helps keep your images as noise free as possible
●Use manual exposure mode. You will need to change your shutter speed rather than your aperture for each shot. Manual mode will allow you to do this. If you want to try this with a compact camera that lacks manual exposure capability, then you have to use exposure compensation to vary your exposures. This should still work fine even if it changes the aperture as compact cameras always have great depth of field due to their small sensor and optical system.
●Use your lowest ISO. Since this technique requires that you take multiple exposures, it really lends itself to non-moving subject. Thus, the long shutter speeds necessitated by using a low ISO isn’t an issue. This will keep noise levels down even further.
Creating an HDR image and tone mapping
There are a number of programs available to create an HDR image from your multiple exposures. I suggest you start with Photoshop CS2 or CS3 if you already have it. If you don’t, try one (or all) of the free programs. They do a great job without all the bells and whistles that you may not need or want initially (or ever for that matter). Each program uses its own algorithms for tone mapping. It has been my experience that some types of images work better with some than others. I have categorized them by cost:
Free programs:
●Picturenaut
Freeware. This a full featured HDR generator with tone mapping capabilities. Most featured of the free programs.
Here is little write up on the application which includes a video tutorial.
Here is a comparison between Picturenaut and Photoshop.
●FDR Tools Basic. Freeware. This a free version of the extremely full featured FDR Tools Advanced. As such, it is very basic. Just enough to let you see the possibilities. No options to speak of in terms of tone mapping. Very easy to use though.
●EasyHDR Basic. This a free version of the extremely full featured EasyHDR Pro. Offers some tone mapping controls. Only supports JPEGs.
For a fee programs:
●Adobe Photoshop CS2-CS5. I begin with Photoshop as many of you already have it. Navigate to File > Automate > Merge to HDR. Once you generate the HDR image, four different methods of tone mapping become available when you opt to go down to 16 bit or 8 bits per channel. The Local Adaptation options offers the most control. Don’t be put off by the initially terrible preview. Enable the advanced options and you are presented with a curve. Begin by setting your black and white point. It will already look much better. Generally, your image will benefit from bringing down the three quarter tones. Then edit the rest of the curve as desired. There are numerous more options for tone mapping in CS5 than in previous versions.
Here is a nice little write-up on what all the new sliders in CS5 mean and do.
Here is a summary of the new sliders in CS5.
Video on how to use the Merge to HDR Pro feature in Photoshop CS5. Her shooting advice is not so good though; she encourage you to shoot in 2 stop increments and suggests it is okay to hand hold the camera. Don't do either.
●EasyHDR Pro. 25 English Pounds. (around $40 dollars). Full featured program with a nice user interface. Trial version is available.
●FDR Tools Advanced. USD 57.69 Full featured program. It is supposed to support masking which would allow it to be used with scenes with moving subjects. Haven’t had a need for that yet, so I don’t know how well it works.
●PHotomatix. USD $99. Well established and full featured application. Good website. Some good resources. Feature rich. Also features the ability to tone map just two images together. This is the most popular third party HDR application. They offer 75% for students and educators.
●HDR Expose. USD $149. They offer an academic discount, but I don't know what it is. It claims to be designed for realistic looking HDR images. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I am going to as I am so impressed by their video tutorials. You can check them out here.
●HDR Efex Pro. Nik Software the maker of many fine plugins such as Nik Sharpener, just released this program. I haven't had a chance to play with it yet.
Software summary:
While I have used Photomantix for HDR, I generally use Photoshop CS4 and CS5 as it is the program that my students are most likely to have or have access to. PS is really quite capable of stunning results. It gets a bad rap for its HDR capabilities, but I think that is because you have to be able to edit the tones using a Curve and many people can't pull it off. Photomantix is simpler to use. If you don't have PS or just want to try a free program, I would go with Picturenaut.
Primer on Night Photography
In a much earlier blog posting from 2007, I talked about shooting Sunsets. I am currently teaching a Digital Photography course and the next project involved night photography. So, for their benefit and yours, here is some things to keep in mind when shooting at night:
-If you are including the moon, sunset, or sunrise, consider where it will be at the time of your shoot. OF course, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west (changes a little throughout the year, but not much). So, you will get a vastly different photo when shooting sunrises to the east or sunsets to the west.
-It is going to be very dark. Bring a flashlight. This will help you see your camera as well as see where you are going.
-You must use a tripod as exposure times will be long
-Use a remote release to trigger your camera. Or use the self timer if the timing of the shutter release isn't critical. You may want to invest in a cable release which has a timer function. This will allow you to use a shutter speed longer than what the camera otherwise offers. For example, the longest shutter speed my Nikon D300 offers is 30 seconds. If I need a shutter speed longer than that, I have to use the Bulb setting. In that mode, you have to hold the shutter release button down to keep the shutter open. This is not conducive to sharp photos. Higher end cable releases have timer functions built in that will allow you to set longer times and hold them with a single press of the cable release button.
-Use the mirror lock up or anti-shock feature of your camera. This will help insure that the photo won't be soft due to vibrations from the mirror (Only applies to those using DSLRs as compact digital cameras don't make use of a mirror).
-Turn on long exposure noise reduction if your camera has it. Most DSLRs and some compact cameras do. May have dig through the custom menus to activate it. The problem with this is your longer exposures will take a very long time to complete. Let’s say you take a 30 second exposure. First the camera takes the normal shot, and then it takes another 30 second shot in which the shutter doesn’t open. It takes the resulting noise pattern and subtracts it from the original exposure. It is very effective, but it really slows shooting down. Not a big deal when it is 80 degrees out, but it really stinks when it is 25 degrees out.
-Bring your camera’s instruction manual. You should always carry it with you anyways. If you are using a seldom used feature like long exposure noise reduction, then it is likely that you will have to look up how to activate it.
-Use your cameras lowest ISO. This assumes that you can use a very slow shutter speed as needed. For most of you this will require that you use the bulb mode in which the shutter will remain open as long as you keep the shutter release button pressed. Many of the remote releases have a provision to lock the button down until you release it. If your camera doesn’t have a slow enough shutter speed, then you may have to increase the ISO in order to obtain a correct exposure even when the aperture is lens all the way open.
-You may have to manually focus. All autofocus cameras require a certain light level to autofocus. If you are setting up in the dark, you will have precious little (if any light) so you may have to manually focus. If you have a DSLR, you can set the lens on infinity. You should note that the lens will likely allow you to focus past infinity. Past infinity?!? This is to take into account the expansion of the lens due to different weather, humidity, and pressure. So, you make have to take a few photos to insure that it is really set at infinity. Almost all compact digital cameras have a manual focus provision that entails selecting a distance from a distance scale. I simply set mine for infinity when using a compact camera. I was happy with the results. Another neat trick is to utilize an external flash. They often have a much more powerful autofocus assist light built in that will allow your camera to focus in pitch black night. So, you would use it focus, then turn the flash off.
-Consider all the ambient light sources unless. Even a very weak light adds up during a long exposure.
-Set your white balance to daylight. This will preserve the unique colors at that time of day. There is no point at getting up at 2am if you just want to take a photo that looks like it was taken at noon.
-Start taking photos before you even see the sun. There is usually a lot of color in the sky that you don't even notice until you take a long exposure photo and see it. Try it.
-Remember to expose for the highlights. Ensure that you are taking in enough light so that the histogram is very close to the right most wall without touching it. On a recent outing I noticed that some of my students were not doing that because it looked better on the LCD when it was underexposed. That is true. However, it will not look nearly as good as the image that was properly exposed once you begin editing on it the computer.
-Shoot RAW file format (assuming your camera supports it). If it is worth shooting, then it is worth shooting as a RAW file.
-Consider creating a HDR image from multiple, varying exposure (I will soon post more on HDR).
-Look for reflections in water (assuming there is water) that will give you twice the color. Shooting just after it has rained is nice as there are more reflections from everything wet. It is also night to shoot when it is kind of foggy/misty out as light will create some areas of glow.
-Bring a cell phone or a buddy; preferably both. If you are trouncing around in the dark it is a good idea to have a way of getting some help should you run into any trouble. Please take this seriously.
-If you are including the moon, sunset, or sunrise, consider where it will be at the time of your shoot. OF course, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west (changes a little throughout the year, but not much). So, you will get a vastly different photo when shooting sunrises to the east or sunsets to the west.
-It is going to be very dark. Bring a flashlight. This will help you see your camera as well as see where you are going.
-You must use a tripod as exposure times will be long
-Use a remote release to trigger your camera. Or use the self timer if the timing of the shutter release isn't critical. You may want to invest in a cable release which has a timer function. This will allow you to use a shutter speed longer than what the camera otherwise offers. For example, the longest shutter speed my Nikon D300 offers is 30 seconds. If I need a shutter speed longer than that, I have to use the Bulb setting. In that mode, you have to hold the shutter release button down to keep the shutter open. This is not conducive to sharp photos. Higher end cable releases have timer functions built in that will allow you to set longer times and hold them with a single press of the cable release button.
-Use the mirror lock up or anti-shock feature of your camera. This will help insure that the photo won't be soft due to vibrations from the mirror (Only applies to those using DSLRs as compact digital cameras don't make use of a mirror).
-Turn on long exposure noise reduction if your camera has it. Most DSLRs and some compact cameras do. May have dig through the custom menus to activate it. The problem with this is your longer exposures will take a very long time to complete. Let’s say you take a 30 second exposure. First the camera takes the normal shot, and then it takes another 30 second shot in which the shutter doesn’t open. It takes the resulting noise pattern and subtracts it from the original exposure. It is very effective, but it really slows shooting down. Not a big deal when it is 80 degrees out, but it really stinks when it is 25 degrees out.
-Bring your camera’s instruction manual. You should always carry it with you anyways. If you are using a seldom used feature like long exposure noise reduction, then it is likely that you will have to look up how to activate it.
-Use your cameras lowest ISO. This assumes that you can use a very slow shutter speed as needed. For most of you this will require that you use the bulb mode in which the shutter will remain open as long as you keep the shutter release button pressed. Many of the remote releases have a provision to lock the button down until you release it. If your camera doesn’t have a slow enough shutter speed, then you may have to increase the ISO in order to obtain a correct exposure even when the aperture is lens all the way open.
-You may have to manually focus. All autofocus cameras require a certain light level to autofocus. If you are setting up in the dark, you will have precious little (if any light) so you may have to manually focus. If you have a DSLR, you can set the lens on infinity. You should note that the lens will likely allow you to focus past infinity. Past infinity?!? This is to take into account the expansion of the lens due to different weather, humidity, and pressure. So, you make have to take a few photos to insure that it is really set at infinity. Almost all compact digital cameras have a manual focus provision that entails selecting a distance from a distance scale. I simply set mine for infinity when using a compact camera. I was happy with the results. Another neat trick is to utilize an external flash. They often have a much more powerful autofocus assist light built in that will allow your camera to focus in pitch black night. So, you would use it focus, then turn the flash off.
-Consider all the ambient light sources unless. Even a very weak light adds up during a long exposure.
-Set your white balance to daylight. This will preserve the unique colors at that time of day. There is no point at getting up at 2am if you just want to take a photo that looks like it was taken at noon.
-Start taking photos before you even see the sun. There is usually a lot of color in the sky that you don't even notice until you take a long exposure photo and see it. Try it.
-Remember to expose for the highlights. Ensure that you are taking in enough light so that the histogram is very close to the right most wall without touching it. On a recent outing I noticed that some of my students were not doing that because it looked better on the LCD when it was underexposed. That is true. However, it will not look nearly as good as the image that was properly exposed once you begin editing on it the computer.
-Shoot RAW file format (assuming your camera supports it). If it is worth shooting, then it is worth shooting as a RAW file.
-Consider creating a HDR image from multiple, varying exposure (I will soon post more on HDR).
-Look for reflections in water (assuming there is water) that will give you twice the color. Shooting just after it has rained is nice as there are more reflections from everything wet. It is also night to shoot when it is kind of foggy/misty out as light will create some areas of glow.
-Bring a cell phone or a buddy; preferably both. If you are trouncing around in the dark it is a good idea to have a way of getting some help should you run into any trouble. Please take this seriously.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Need this Saturday by midnight
Two images downsampled such that the longest dimension is 2000 pixels. Highest quality JPEG. Please email it to sedernb@hotmail.com. Please indicate which of the two you definitely want submitted. I may use the second one as an additional supporting image.
Your artist resume that is to be no longer than one page. It should have your address and phone number of it. You can check out Cher's artist resume if you are not familiar with the concept. www.cherilynpaige.com.
Your artist resume that is to be no longer than one page. It should have your address and phone number of it. You can check out Cher's artist resume if you are not familiar with the concept. www.cherilynpaige.com.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Food for Thought
Yesterday, I went to the University of Michigan Museum of Art. They have an exhibit by an artist named Jakob Kolding. I am not in love with the aesthetics of his work, but I love the ideas in the work.
Here is quote from the curator of the show:
"Jakob Kolding’s work revolves around the experience of life in the contemporary built environment, particularly the relationships and contradictions that emerge between how architectural spaces are planned and how they are actively used. His collages, drawings, posters, and mixed-media sculptures incorporate a wide range of source material, sampling and mixing the visual idiom of modernist art and architecture, the language of sociological inquiry, and such popular cultural forms as hip-hop and electronic music, skateboarding, and soccer"
I find this to be especially relevant to the course. Along these same lines, I was in Adrian over the weekend attending the opening for Barb Miner's exhibit when I drove by a former Hollywood Video store which is now being used as one of those temporary Halloween stores. I think a series on the re-use of the Hollywood Video buildings would be great. Not only does it speak to the re-use of buildings, but to how digital technology is literally changing the physical landscape. It might also be interesting to just focus on all the temporary Halloween stores that pop up in vacant buildings. The former Circuit City on Monroe Street is a good example of that. Food for thought.
Here is quote from the curator of the show:
"Jakob Kolding’s work revolves around the experience of life in the contemporary built environment, particularly the relationships and contradictions that emerge between how architectural spaces are planned and how they are actively used. His collages, drawings, posters, and mixed-media sculptures incorporate a wide range of source material, sampling and mixing the visual idiom of modernist art and architecture, the language of sociological inquiry, and such popular cultural forms as hip-hop and electronic music, skateboarding, and soccer"
I find this to be especially relevant to the course. Along these same lines, I was in Adrian over the weekend attending the opening for Barb Miner's exhibit when I drove by a former Hollywood Video store which is now being used as one of those temporary Halloween stores. I think a series on the re-use of the Hollywood Video buildings would be great. Not only does it speak to the re-use of buildings, but to how digital technology is literally changing the physical landscape. It might also be interesting to just focus on all the temporary Halloween stores that pop up in vacant buildings. The former Circuit City on Monroe Street is a good example of that. Food for thought.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
How to correctly shoot a series of images to be combined later into a Panorama
How to correctly shoot a series of images to be combined later into a Panorama
Seder Burns
- Use a tripod. Using a tripod helps to insure accurate alignment of images. If you plan on using Hugin to assemble your images on the computer, I suggest you overlap each image somewhere between 30-50%.
- 3 way tripod heads are preferable as they allow you to change just the horizontal axis independent of the other axis. If you use a ball head, it must have the option of rotating along the horizontal axis independently of the other axis.
- You should level your camera when possible. Leveling your tripod insure that horizontal lines stay that way. If you have a built in level, use it. If you don’t have a tripod with a built in level, you can purchase a hot shoe mounted, dual axis, spirit level (around $35).
- Using a tripod allows you to use a small aperture to increase depth of filed when desired without having to worry about blurry images due to camera shake.
- If you have the means to do it, determine nodal point of your lens and pivot on its axis. This is most easily achieved by purchasing a commercially made panorama tripod head.
- Use a cable release, electronic release, remote release, or self-timer to release the shutter. This avoids any potential blurriness caused by shaking the camera. If one image is blurrier than the others, then your panorama is ruined.
- If your camera has a mirror lock up feature designed to minimize vibration cuased by the movement of the mirror, use it. This is different from a mirror lock up feature designed to flip up the mirror for the purpose of cleaning the sensor. Some cameras such as the Nikon D100 have an anti-shock feature that causes a delay after the mirror flips up to allow the vibration from the mirror to dissipate before the shutter opens.
- Determine your exposure and then lock it in. If your camera has manual exposure capabilities, then set your exposure and don’t change it from shot to shot. If your camera doesn’t have manual exposure capabilities, try to find an exposure lock button and keep it pressed in while shooting each image. This insures consistency between each shot. This is super important.
- When determining exposure, consider the brightness values of the whole scene. As always, determine your exposure for the highlights. Set your exposure based on the brightest area in which you wish to preserve full detail. Don’t worry if the shadows look very dark. You can always open them up later using software, but you can not restore blown out highlights.
- Consider bracketing. Of course, I mean bracket the whole series and not from frame to frame.
- When taking panoramas outside, be mindful of rapid changes in brightness caused by shifting cloud cover. This can result in stitched panoramas with abrupt changes in brightness and color.
- Manually focus your camera for a given distance and do not refocus between each shot.
- If you have a DSLR, you should focus manually. If you have trouble focusing manually, then use autofocus to focus the first image, then turn autofocus off to shoot the other shots. This will insure focus doesn’t change from image to image.
- If you have a point and shoot style digital camera, then you can usually manual focus by selecting a distance at which to focus from a menu.
- Carefully consider the distance at which you focus. Also consider your depth of field. Choose a small aperture for greater depth of field when desired.
- To facilitate clean stitches, try to use the longest focal length you have available. This will necessitate moving further away from the subject. I realize that this is not always possible when shooting within confined spaces.
- In order to minimize distortions caused by parallax, shoot directly at the things that are closest to you. Placing close objects directly in the center of a shot keeps them away from edges and seams where they are most problematic.
- Use a lens hood to prevent/minimize flare. If you don’t have a lens hood for the lens you are using, then go buy one for it.
- Manually set your white balance. Otherwise auto white balance may change setting from image to image. I suggest you set it for the dominant light source. If you are shooting under mixed lighting, you may want to set the white balance using a white or gray card (see your camera manual for instructions on how to do this).
- Shoot in RAW file format. This will allow give the greatest image quality and the greatest latitude in editing.
- I suggest that you sketch what you anticipate the completed panorama will look like. It is a real challenge to create a compelling panorama image. It is much larger frame to make use of. Often, only part of the image is interesting.
- Don't use a polarizer. The effect of polarizers varies according to the angle to the sun. So, the effect will change as you rotate the camera. I suppose you could use a graduated neutral density filter, but you would have to insure that you are absolutely level.
Panorama stitching programs
Okay, we are going to make some panoramas! I love panoramas! One day I will offer an all panorama class!
Once you have all your images shot for inclusion into a panorama, you need to use a program to stitch the individual images into a single panoramic image.
The Photo Merge panorama feature in PS is much better than it was before. You might just want to start there. It can be accessed by going to File > Automate > PhotoMerge.
Hugin - a very powerful, feature rich panorama stitching program. It is however, not the most user friendly program. It is free though. Awesome name.
PTgui is a commercial product similar to Hugin but possibly with better support
There are other programs besides Hugin that you might want to try.
Microsoft's Image Composite Editor (ICE) - Free Microsoft program, simple but powerful. There is however no official support. Support is via a community forum. Of course, it is Windows only.
Gigapan is project to create incredibly high resolution panorama images using a robotic panorama head.
Autopano - high end panorama stitching software. Very powerful, but expensive.
Once you have all your images shot for inclusion into a panorama, you need to use a program to stitch the individual images into a single panoramic image.
The Photo Merge panorama feature in PS is much better than it was before. You might just want to start there. It can be accessed by going to File > Automate > PhotoMerge.
Hugin - a very powerful, feature rich panorama stitching program. It is however, not the most user friendly program. It is free though. Awesome name.
PTgui is a commercial product similar to Hugin but possibly with better support
There are other programs besides Hugin that you might want to try.
Microsoft's Image Composite Editor (ICE) - Free Microsoft program, simple but powerful. There is however no official support. Support is via a community forum. Of course, it is Windows only.
Gigapan is project to create incredibly high resolution panorama images using a robotic panorama head.
Autopano - high end panorama stitching software. Very powerful, but expensive.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Links to my other class blogs with relevant readings
art2150.blogspot.com - links to basic digital workflow for scanned images
art3150.blogspot.com - links to exposure determination readings and a little write up on the topic
art3150.blogspot.com - links to exposure determination readings and a little write up on the topic
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Further inspiration
Nathan Harger - awesome images. Notice that many of them don't include any buildings. BTW- he is from Cleveland and some of the shots are of Cleveland.
Julian Faulhaber- very bold use of color. Great compositions and shots from everyday places that are transformed due to their absence of people. I love the basketball court image. Some are at night, others not.
Darren Soh - Check out his series While You Were Sleeping. Night shots of Singapore.
Julian Faulhaber- very bold use of color. Great compositions and shots from everyday places that are transformed due to their absence of people. I love the basketball court image. Some are at night, others not.
Darren Soh - Check out his series While You Were Sleeping. Night shots of Singapore.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Good Photography quotes
You don't take a photograph, you make it. - Ansel Adams
Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment. - Ansel Adams, Photographing Nature: LIFE Library of Photography by Time-Life (Editor)
Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. - Ansel Adams
Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment. - Ansel Adams, Photographing Nature: LIFE Library of Photography by Time-Life (Editor)
Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. - Ansel Adams
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
It's about the culture, not the buildings
Throughout this course, I want you keep the following in mind:
It's about the culture, not the buildings. What led to the creation, utilization, abandonment, etc of a place?
When you take your photos, what you saying about the culture? Are you reveling in it, mocking it, revolted by it, celebrating it, are you impartial (is that even possible? Why would you photograph it then)?
Required Text Book
Worlds Away by John Archer et al
Depending on where you get it, it may be as much as $31.45 (if you order it fulfilled through Amazon. You can buy from on of the private seller's from Amazon for as little as $18.68 plus shipping. Please order it ASAP.
Direct link to the book on Amazon. I don't care where you get it from.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)