Lilahpops

30

Nov

Medieval helpdesk video

This is a very funny take on an IT Support Helpdesk.

Tags: Video

posted by Anthea in General and have No Comments

28

Nov

2. What I learned about photography this week

Here are some more interesting and informative links for you, full of photographic goodness:

Know your camera

Epic Edits Weblog has a good article about learning the functions of your camera. While it is particularly useful for DSLR cameras owners, I still found it to be quite topical as I recently read my camera manual cover to cover. I think the gist of the article is to know your camera, be familiar with it, so that you don’t have to think too much about what settings to use when that perfect, yet unexpected, shot arises.

How well do you know your camera

Improve your shooting technique

In a similar “educational” vein, Digital Photography School recommends a few ideas to improve and vary your photography.

10 ways to add variety to your digital photography

Smoke and mirrors

Photodoto has fun using mirrors to photograph objects with some pleasing results.

Playtime: using mirrors

…and for the festive season

With Christmas just around the corner, Photocritic rounds up a delicious list of gifts for photographers. So get to and drop some not-so-subtle hints to your loved ones!

Photography Gift Guide

Enjoy.

Comic book style photos

Find your creative streak and turn your photos into comic strips!

I recently read a very detailed, comprehensive tutorial about enhancing your photos with a retro comic book effect. The tutorial is an excellent example of one of the many and varied post-production techniques you can apply to your own photos. I was inspired to try out this comic book effect on some of my own photos.

Again, one of my cats has the starring role.

The original images

As a proud cat owner, you would be right in assuming that I have amassed gazillions of photos of my cats. I took these shots a while ago, and although they were sadly overexposed, I thought they were quite expressive and decided to hold onto them until I found a use for them. And then I found this tutorial.

Original images

Adding the comic book effect

The tutorial over at the Photoshop Roadmap is easy to follow. There is also cartoon-type fonts for you to download. It’s fun and you’ll be pleased with the results. I’d love to know how you go in the comments.

I only took one deviation from the steps which was to use iPhoto to make the initial adjustments to the levels, saturation and color. Click the images below for the higher resolution versions.

So there you have it – my first comic strip!

Tags: iPhoto, Photoshop

posted by Anthea in Point and Shoot, Tips and Tutorials and have Comments (2)

15

Nov

Using the zoom function in macro mode

Tip for the point-and-shoot digital camera: In macro mode use the digital zoom function to get closer to the subject

Now that may be quite an obvious statement but it is one photography tip which this amateur photographer discovered quite by chance while taking some macro shots of a lady beetle.

My digital camera is of the simple point-and-shoot variety and I was honestly surprised to find it has this capability. DSLR photographers, who have a huge array of tools and accessories to use on their cameras, may or may not find this relevant…oh, for a DSLR of my own!

Discovering the zoom in macro

I was clearing out some dying spinach from its pot in the garden when I spotted two ladybugs crawling around the stems of the plants. Any further thoughts of gardening went to the back of my mind and all I could think about was capturing those bugs as ’still life’. I got out my digital camera (making sure it was set to a high resolution), sat it on a tripod and set the mode to macro. Of course, the ladybirds decided this was the perfect time to hide behind the spinach leaves. I felt I wasn’t getting in close enough, even on the super macro setting.

For some reason I hit the zoom button and found that the digital zoom function kicked in and I could focus in tightly on the ladybugs. The camera zoomed straight in passed the spinach leaves that were hiding my little subjects. Eureka!

Make a difference with the digital zoom

Using the zoom made the ladybirds enormous. The trick is knowing how far to zoom in. If you zoom too far then the photo might end up with a grainy look (which, by the way, can still be a nice effect). I tried out different zoom lengths and waited until I downloaded the photos to my computer before selecting the best results (the back-screen of the camera is just too small to tell for sure if your photo is a Nobel prize winner or a miserable failure. I think I managed to shoot something in between).

It wasn’t until I was in the post-production phase that I noticed the spider in the top right corner.

Use a tripod when taking macro shots

The tripod came in extremely handy while I was taking these photos. In fact, with the digital zoom on, I don’t think I would have been able to keep the camera steady enough without one. It’s worthwhile investing in a tripod if you don’t have one. I used my new favourite Gorillapod Tripod for these shots.