RTFM...again!

© 2009 Simon Hucko

If you're like me, the first thing you do when you get a new camera (or other gadget) is to pull it out of the box and start playing with it. However, fairly soon afterward (usually that night before bed) I'll get out the manual and read it cover to cover. Having spent some time with my new camera, the references to buttons and dials and menus will make some sense, and I'm likely to have a list of "how do I...?" questions stored up that will be answered as I read. (If you don't do this, you are seriously missing out, and likely have spent way too much time scratching your head or settling for mediocre results.)

At this point, most people toss the manual back into the box or into the junk drawer and forget about it. If you do, you're throwing away a great opportunity to really get the most out of your gear. I keep my camera manual in my camera bag, so it's always there if I need to look something up. There will come a time when you're shooting and part of your brain goes "hm, I remember that there's a setting for ________, but darned if I know how to find it and change it." Manual to the rescue!

I also advise that you re-visit the manual after you've shot with your camera for a while and are comfortable using it. You can skim through most of the basic information, but there are likely to be a few features in there that you forgot about, or that didn't make sense the first time through. Learning a new shortcut can make the difference between capturing a moment and missing it because you're diving through menus. Knowing how to finely adjust parameters in camera can help cut down on post processing time, especially when shooting .jpg.

Camera manuals tend to be surprisingly well written, and will help you fully utilize the tool that you plunked down your hard earned cash for. If you haven't ever read your manual, read it! If you have, pick it up again and take a look through - you will probably go "ohhhhh! so that's what that setting means" at least once. Either way, find a spot for it in your camera bag and always have it available for reference. It might save your butt some day.

~S

Dan Coogan Photography

© Coogan Photography

Today's photo link is to Dan Coogan's online portfolio. Dan Coogan is a master of environmental portraiture, and has done some absolutely stunning work. Take a minute and flip through his galleries, especially the Editorial/Magazine portfolio.

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Also, in case you missed the addendum to yesterday's post, I have the full set of pictures up from Sunday on Picasa. Check it out, and please feel free to post comments :)

~S

Flickr badge generator

© 2009 Simon Hucko

Yesterday turned into a pretty busy day, so I never had the chance to take pictures. Such is life. So it looks like my "macro week" will be more like "macro 3 days." Honestly, I'm itching to start shooting with my D70 again, so the point n shoot is getting put away. It was a fun experiment, and I think I got some nice shots from it, but I really miss the control and quality that I get with my DSLR. My point n shoot will go back to what it's best for - being a small unobtrusive camera that I can carry with me anywhere and not worry about being "that guy with a camera."

Today's link is to flickr's badge generator. Found this today and have replaced the 3rd party gadget on the blog here with it (see above). I chose to use the html version because of where I wanted it. There is also a flash version that will create a more interactive interface. Either way, you can choose to display your most recent work (what I'm using it for), a specific set, filtered by tags, or a random sampling of your photostream. You can also set it up to display work from the flickr community using various filtering methods. If you have a blog or another website, this is a great way to get your work on display there.

~S

Quick and dirty monitor "calibration"

© 2009 Simon Hucko

We've all been there - working on a computer that isn't ours, trying to look at pictures, and wondering why shadows look like bottomless pits, or why all of the highlights suddenly look blown out. There are a lot of bad uncalibrated monitors out there, especially old CRT units that have been sitting at the local public library for the last 7 years.

Well, photofriday.com has a page that gives you an easy way to check brightness levels of the monitor you're working on. Note: this will NOT help with color calibration, or truly "calibrate" the monitor, but it will help you get it to a normal state of brightness and contrast for better image viewing.

My suggestion is to e-mail yourself the link to a searchable webmail account (ie gmail) so that you can find it whenever you need to.

~S

Macro Week, Day 3

© 2009 Simon Hucko

Macro week continues! Click the picture above or the link here for the set from yesterday.

Don't really have anything groundbreaking to say about it today, so just check it out and leave some comments :)

~S

Tilt-shift your photos

© 2009 Simon Hucko

Remember those tilt-shift videos from Keith Loutit that I posted a while back? Tilt-shift lenses have the amazing ability to make scenes look like miniature models by manipulating the depth of field and tricking your brain. It's an awesome effect, but an expensive one to do in camera - most tilt-shift lenses cost around $2000. Yikes.

Fear not, there are plenty of ways to simulate the effect in post. I just tried out an online TiltShift Gadget from artandmobile.com, and have to say I really like the results. Click on my photo above to see it larger. Here's the original below:


© 2007 Simon Hucko

The applet is designed for web use, so it doesn't play as nicely with images larger than 1600p. You can also download it as a stand-alone app, and install a plugin that supports drag-and-drop.

A fun little tool that's easy to use and definitely worth playing with. Give it a try, and share your results in the comments!

~S

Macro Week, Day 2

© 2009 Simon Hucko

New set of pictures up from yesterday's continuation of Macro Week. Please let me know what you think, both good and bad.

I'm also interested to hear what your photography goals are at the moment. Could be as simple as "I want to shoot at least one day a week." Could be something specific, like my mission to use my point n shoot's macro mode every day. Could even be a desire to get better at a certain type of photography or a specific technique. If you don't have one, make one and share it.

~S