Created a Blurb account this evening. Trying it (and the BookSmart app) out as we speak. I'll be very impressed if I can make a great looking photo book using photos from my Flickr account. The more I read on Blurb, the more excited I get. Not only can you print photo books, but you can print cookbooks, poetry books, regular books, and you can even print your blog (odd but cool).
It's Sunday #3 for our weekend. Time to work on Goal #1. After reading the HDR Photography Explained article, I started paging through my camera manual to see if I could follow the step by step instructions. I had no idea I had the auto bracketing function on the Lumix! Shows me how much more I need to learn about my camera. The auto bracketing feature allows you to take three photos in series with different exposures. You can set increments of ±1/3EV, ±2/3EV, or ±1EV.
I read that Photoshop CS4 has an HDR automator built in. I also installed a trial version of Photomatix Pro. I tried the HDR processing in both Photoshop and Photomatix for comparison. Even though I don't understand all of the concepts and vocabulary associated with tonal mapping, etc, I think Photomatix has a much better interface for HDR processing than Photoshop. Photoshop's "Merge to HDR" script prompts you to open a set of HDR candidates to merge and it does its magic. You can do a little post processing (choosing 8/16/32 bits/channel, change the white point, and upload a different response curve) but you don't have any say with how it initially aligns the content of source images in response to movement. Photomatix essentially does the same thing, but it gives you a big set of processing options to choose from for source matching, noise reduction, artifact ghosting, etc. Once it's done processing the initial output, you can work with the tonal mapping if it needs any additional tweaks.
The first set of photos I took were of the begonias and the Japanese maple. It's windy today. I waited for breaks in the breeze, but it really didn't make much of a difference. Aligning all the image components didn't work very well. You can see a ton of movement in attempt #1 and #3 below. I also had the EV setting at -1 to start out with so after the auto bracketing, the EV range was shifted. Will gave me a great idea to try the light in my drawing room and I think it worked very well. The Photoshop merges are under-saturated and the contrast is off in my opinion. For my first try without any kind of manual post-processing, I think Photomatix wins. Now I need to learn what it all means and how to do it myself.
Attempt #4: Drawing Room Light
Aperture priority
f/4.0
ISO 400
Macro
| -1EV | -- | +1EV |
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| Photoshop | Photomatix Pro |
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Attempt #1: Begonias
| -2EV | -1EV | -- |
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| Photoshop | Photomatix Pro |
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Attempt #2: Japanese Maple
| -2EV | -1EV | -- |
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| Photoshop | Photomatix Pro |
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Attempt #3: Japanese Maple
| -4/3EV | -2/3EV | -- |
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| Photoshop | Photomatix Pro |
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I want a digital SLR...And I'd actually like to take some photography classes to go with it. Would be nice if they counted towards my art degree. Hmmmmmmm... "Someday I'll finish," she says. But four hour night classes twice a week are not in my immediate future. I've thought many times about enrolling and actually finishing the degree. The studio classes would be amazing and cathartic and I'd actually feel the creative bug again. That would mean heading to class directly after work and getting home just in time to go to bed. How did I used to manage it? I don't think I ever questioned it then. I was glad to be done with high school and absolutely excited to be in college studying what I love. Now I know why people always said finish it now else you never will. It's all a matter of perspective, I guess.
Untouched sketch pads...blank canvases...dull pencils...full tubes of paint... and an out-of-focus inspiration barely the color of an old, faded, washed out dish cloth. "You need to find it," Mr. Brinks would say. Where did the reds, yellows, and blues go? There there. I see them every now and then. I'll find it as soon as I really look.
Weird Fishes: Arpeggi from flight404 on Vimeo. I heart Radiohead's 'In Rainbows' and I really like this video.
A new challenge...once I finally fork out some cash for CS2.
I saw something similar earlier with a tutorial on how to create these. I'll have to search notcot for it.
Per a previous story, I finally tried out a little work with the Wacom on a picture from Hot Water Blast. I made it not so invisible because I liked the way it looked with a little of the background coming through.
Rusty
Kosal
Jeremy
| Buffalo Bill's Orange Blossom Cream Ale. Sounds girly, doesn't it? It's good. And it actually has a real orange flavor. And typical me, I really dig the label. |  |
Saw this on Notcot and loved it. Did a little collage work as I felt the need to be a bit creative lately. Even though it's art, it's a bit nsfw, so be warned. KimJoon.co.kr
