Photo Tip - B&W vs. Grayscale (facebook edition)

[The following is directed to all with an emphasis to facebook users]

Often people upload photos to photo sharing sites like facebook or flikr and apply what they think is a black and white look to it. However, this is not a real black and white look; real being the result of B&W film. All that is occuring is the lowering or removal of color saturation. What is left are simply shades of grey. Although sometimes grayscale comes close, it often doesn't properly give the same feel as a real B&W photograph. One characteristic that lacks in a grayscale image is the "dirty graininess" of a B&W film. The difference can be seen here.

Grayscale vs.Black & White

Click to view large size

The grayscale photo has no colour but what remains is a flat photo with no depth and no contrast. A real B&W photograph has much contrast, depth and a often a more rough feel to it.

Here's a great site (as mentioned in previous posting) to give that photo a true B&W look.
http://www.picnik.com/app#/home/welcome

Watch for a future posting on B&W photography.

Featured Photo Tech - PICNIK

The following is for all
Click title for link

Many people spout the term Photoshop as the term used to fix, correct or manipulate a digital image. Although Photoshop, created by Adobe, is the industry's leading image manipulation software, it is also one of the most complex and highly difficult software available, not to mention expensive.
Often people desire to make simple corrections like brighten a photo or special effects such as sepia and believe photoshop is the only solution. This is the same as trying to go after a fly with a bazooka; a little overkill!

This is where PICNIK steps in. Picnik is an online website that lets you "play" with a photo to your heart's content. Best of all, it's free! Though there is an option to register for a paying account for premium functions (ie. curves and levels adjustments) , there are many free options to choose from.

Besides the basics for exposure and contrast (which also surprisingly includes functions for highlights and shadows with a tonal histogram), there are several high-end features from infrared to HDR. The B&W mode even has coloured filters for a true film-like effect.

Samples using PICNIK

B&W with filtering -------- "1960's" with Cross-Processing

You can get your photos from your own computer or online sites such as Facebook or Picasa. After you finish, you can save the image to several formats including .jpg or even .tif. All of this is done in a warm and user-friendly interface with no knowledge of layers or masks needed!

From the casual point-and-shoot to the pros-on-the-go, PICNIK is an easy and powerful way to get the most out of your pictures without having to bleed your wallet dry!

Filters

The following is for DSLR users

So it's been more than a month that many of you have had your DSLRs. A question I keep getting asked is "What filter should I have on my lens?" or "Do I need a filter"? Here's the 514 on that. Firstly, a filter will do two things for your lens. It will protect the lens and, depending on what type of filter, affect the image itself. Before I talk about different filters, let me answer if you really do need one or not.

With or Without Protection?
If ever you dropped the camera and it hits the ground lens first, having a filter will take the brunt of the impact (hopefully taking most of the damage) and leave the lens glass intact. This way, you'll just replace the damaged filter. Comparing this to the cost of having to repair the lens itself and you'll be wishing you spent that $20-70!

However, there is a downside. A filter can reduce the exposure anywhere from 1-2 stops and sometimes cause lens flare (like a ball or streak of light). As well, having a non coated filter vs. single or multi-coated filter can affect the quality of the colour and exposure.

In my personal experience, I have lens hoods on most of my lenses. So that in itself provides protection. So I do not use filters. BUT this is solely depending upon the user. Each person knows how they hold the camera and their personal habbits. So it really depends on how they use the camera. I do however recommend to new users to use filters for protection.


Different Types
Many filters today had stronger applications to film use than they do with DSLRs. This was because film was more sensitive to how light affected the quality of the photo since film was chemical based. Because cameras today are electronic in nature, some materials used for lens glass fabrication already reduce flare and because we can do many adjustments with photo software, many filters to be listed mostly serve to protect the lens rather than affect the photo itself.

UV - Absorbs the ultraviolet rays which often makes outdoor photographs hazy and indistinct. A muliti-purpose fine-weather filter for color as well as black and white films. Also serves as a permanent lens protector.
Note: In digital, mostly serves to protect the lens.

1A - Reduces the excessive bluishness that frequently occurs in outdoor color photography, especially in open shade under a clear, blue sky. The absorption peak is in the range which corresponds to the film's green spectrum. This means outstanding outdoor shots with superb color balance and clarity under all conditions. Also keeps skin tones free of colored reflections from nearby objects such as the shade of trees.
Note: In digital, mostly serves to protect the lens. Similar to UV with additional above mentioned function.

Circular Polarizer - They allow you to remove unwanted reflections from non-metallic surfaces such as water, glass etc. meaning you can shoot through windows. They also enable colors to become more saturated and appear clearer, with better contrast. This effect is often used to increase the contrast and saturation in blue skies and white clouds.
Note: Make sure the lens does not focus externally. Because the circular polarizer depends on how you rotate the filter, external focused lenses will rotate your filter altering the desired effect.


Here are some useful websites with further details on filters.
http://www.hoyafilter.com/products/hoya/gf-01.html
http://photo.net/equipment/filters/
http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-Guide/filter/filter-UV.html

*SPECIAL EDITION* - Street Shots with Magnum Photographer Bruce Gilden

Photograph - Nightclub

Today being Friday, "end of the week, time to go out and party..." I thought I'd share and talk about this club photo.

One of you asked me how I do the lighting for my club photography. Though I don't want to get into the topic about flash just yet (saving that for later on), I will answer the following question:

"Did you use the built-in flash or an external flash?" The (short) answer is an external flash.
To be precise a Pentax AF360FGZ flash.



Why do I like this photo?
Using an external flash can add more depth and natural ambient-like lighting when properly used. For those starting off, notice the use of the rule-of-thirds. I've also cropped-in (positioning and zooming slightly) to focus just on the two subjects. I composed to a half-body proportion to keep their arms and drink within the photo.

Thanks for the question and enjoy the picture!

Funny Fridays!

I thought I'd end the week on a funny note!
I've worked at Astral Photo for over 5 years and in that time I've heard, from customers, some funny terms for MEGAPIXELS. A megapixel contains 1 million pixels (those little squares).
Here are a few of those terms. Enjoy!

"8 megabyte (MB) camera"

"10 pixel camera"

"That camera with 10X megapixels?"

"6 megapickle camera"

"8 MP film camera"

"7 byte camera"

"10 mega whatever camera"

"5 megapixies camera"

Photo Lesson - Lines and Patterns

The following is for DSLR and Compacts

The Flow

Everywhere in nature we can find lines and patterns. Most of the times, we don’t notice these things but hopefully after this lesson, you’ll begin to develop an eye for noticing natural patterns.

There are three directions for lines to occur in nature: horizontal, vertical and diagonal. And with patterns, there is a natural flow in one (or more) of these directions. So when looking through your lens or behind the screen, two things can be seen. Either you’ll notice a movement (or flow) of objects or people in one of these directions or you’ll see static (non-moving) objects along a certain direction. These directions may be obvious at times or they will appear in your frame when you move into position.

Lines

Often when looking at lines in a photo, we will follow it from one end to the other. They can divide, unify, or highlight certain parts of a composition. If they are interesting enough, they can become a visual topic in themselves. Depending on the direction in which the line is shaped, it can be of great help to lead our eyes to or from the subject or point of interest. This is what is considered a leading line. The shape of the lines can have great significance upon the mood of the photograph.

The following are examples of lines.

This photo was actually of the ceiling but I rotated it 90 degrees clockwise to give the illusion of a hallway.

Here the reflection of the wall caused a mirror effect. The wall acted as a line causing a flow towards the door.

Patterns

A person with a trained photographic eye will develop the ability to notice patterns even when he or she does not have a camera in hand. Whether the patterns are man-made or natural, patterns bring a sense of visual rhythm and harmony to photographs that, like a series of repeating notes in a melody, attract the attention of the human mind. Patterns appear whenever strong graphic elements such as lines, colours, shapes, or forms repeat themselves. The key to emphasizing patterns is to isolate them from their surroundings. By excluding everything but the design, you create the illusion that the repetition is infinite, extending beyond the frame. Telephoto and longer zoom lenses are excellent tools for isolating and extracting patterns by enabling you to exclude extraneous images. (Fodor’s: Focus on Travel Photography).

The following are examples of patterns.

Here each floor had the same layout giving rise to a repeating pattern.

This repeating pattern can either cause the eyes to start from the front and lead towards the back or vice-versa.

This is both a combination of lines and patterns causing the eyes to want to flow toward the center of the photograph.