DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, SOFTWARES, EDITING

Interveiw of Anup Sah

2009-05-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Master of Peaks, Anup Sah
Photography for him is the finest medium of expression

a mailto:anupsah@yahoo.co.in Phone: 09412084513 )
“It is the skill of a photographer which gives amazing results. No camera or lens can alone create good pictures.” This is what famous mountain photographer of the country, Anup Sah thinks. Anup Sah is known as master of peaks. He has been associated with mountain photography for a period of more than 20 years. His Himalayan Pictures have been used in a number of reputed books, numerous greeting cards and posters. Anup Sah has himself authored a few pictorial books of photography. He is a regular participant in national and international level photo-contests and has achieved more than 300 awards and 1700 acceptances in these contests. He has been honoured with Associateship Honour of India International Photographic Council, New Delhi. The same council has honoured him by giving Diamond Grade Honour also. He is active member of different mountaineering associations of the country. He has successfully completed various mountaineering expeditions. He is one of the active founders of Florists League, India. He has been a Member of the Uttarakhand Wildlife Advisory Board, Chaired by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He was invited to China in 2006 for Pingyao International Photography Festival. He represented the delegation of Academy of Visual Media, New Delhi there. A simple and soft spoken human being, Anup Sah is always ready to click nature’s beauty with great zeal. He never hesitates to help and guide budding artists. Dr. Pankaj Sharma had a conversation with Anup Sah. Here are some parts of this conversation.
How did your photographic journey start?
As I was born in Nainital, I was deeply fascinated by the natural beauty of Uttarakhand since my childhood. I always wanted to capture the nature’s beauty in camera. My father, who was fond of photography, knew my interest and gifted me a camera (Agfa Isoly) in 1964. This added wings to my passion. I started clicking mountains. Initially I framed the pictures as my insight whispered. In those days there was no serious amateur in the field of photography in Nainital. There was a photo studio, named, Ratan Lal & Sons in my town. The owner of studio, on my request, taught me the basics of photography, i.e. composition, exposure, developing the film, making the prints etc. Later I came in contact of Col. Madhusudan ji, who was seriously associated with photography art. On his inspiration I, in 1985 participated in a national photography contest first time. Unfortunately all of my submitted photographs were rejected. But I did not feel disheartened and tried to improve my hand. In 1990 I had an opportunity to go for a trip to Kailash-Mansarovar. By now I had got a Nikon F-3 camera. I clicked a number of shots with great care during this trip. The same year I had a chance to project my images in a slide show in Moradabad. I was not aware of the presence of Great Master of photography art, Padmshree, Mr. T. Kashinath in this show. He, after the completion of slide show, met me and appreciated my pictures wholeheartedly. This moment was like a dream for me. On Mr. T. Kashinath’s suggestion I started participating in national level contests of photography seriously and never looked back.
What was the response of your family members towards your hobby?
My father and mother encouraged me since my childhood. They always appreciated me on my each success. In fact this is due to their blessings only that I have been able to take my hobby seriously. On the other hand my wife is also a source of inspiration for me. I find her with me at every step of success.
Who has worked as source of inspiration for you?
The work styles of Mr. Ansel Adams, Mr. O. P. Sharma, Mr. T. Kashinath and Kr. Shukdeo Singh have deeply fascinated and inspired me.
Apart from mountain-photography, which other branches of photography do you love?
I’m deeply interested in capturing wild life and flora. I like to click landscapes equally.
I think that pictorial value is the soul of every photograph. Whether it is a landscape or a wild life shot, I never compromise with pictorial quality of a picture.
What are your hobbies?
I’m a nature lover. Mountaineering and tracking are my passions. I have climbed various peaks of Uttarakhand and visited numerous remote places of the region. I regularly organise tracking tours. I have completed Traills Pass Expedition successfully in the year 1998. I have successfully completed the mountaineering expeditions of Nanda Devi, Nanda Khat, Panchchuli Peaks etc. On the other hand I’m seriously associated with horticulture. Colourful flowers have always attracted me.
Tell about your future plans.
I have to work a lot in the field of wild life of high altitude regions. Also I’m planning two books that will focus on Himalayan birds and animals.
Which equipments do you use?
I have a Nikon, D-80 camera. I have a sigma zoom lens of 10 mm to 20 mm which gives me dramatic results while shooting Himalayan landscapes. My other lenses are 24 mm to 75 mm zoom and a 75 mm to 200 mm zoom which I use as per the requirement. I use a Sigma telephoto lens of 500 mm for shooting wildlife. I’m very much satisfied with its results. But here I would like to add one thing - it is the skill of a photographer which gives amazing results. No camera or lens can alone create good pictures.
Where do young photographers stand in regard of their work?
Young artists are no doubt creating good pictures. They are much more updated with new technology in photo making. This is a good sign.
What message would you give to youth?
Today photography has made a vital place in the field of not only fine art but also in the field of employment. A skilled person in this art has a brightfuturwith a number of career options.

Interview of Debatosh sengupta

2009-03-13T06:01:00.000-07:00

For you I have interviewed Mr Debatosh sengupta .His biodata and interview are given below. You can contact him on his email debatoshsengupta@hotmail.com for any further query. As always I am waiting for your mails.............Rajendra

Debatosh sengupta, B.Sc, M.A, PG Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication, Diploma in Photography, an Associate of the Royal Photographic society, Great Britain, an Artist Federation International de ‘la Art Photographique, Belgium, and a Fellow of Federation of Indian Photography, Life Member of the FIP and PAD, is the Director, Photo Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, New Delhi. He was also the Registrar of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata. A former Museum Photographer, initiated photography in 1970, and exhibited interest to study MAN with divergent ethnic and cultural origin having Negroid to Nordic in this country, also developed interest for the study of Nature & environment and finally is involved in the Government as a press photographer with a special emphasis on the VVIP’s and documentation of changing scenario what the country sees. Traveled extensively to the remotest place from the North to South and East to West of the country for the ethnographic documentation and also visited the neighboring country and continent e.g. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, Soviet Russia (Russia, Georgia and, Azerbaijan), Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Colombia, Cyprus, Oman, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, South Africa, Namibia, Turkey, China, Japan, Brazil, Maxico, Chilli and Mauritius for providing photo coverage’s of the President, the Vice-President and the Prime Ministers. He has a fantastic collection of works on Child and Women in India.
He is more concerned with Pictorial work, as will be evident from the acceptance of more than 200 of his works in the National and International exhibitions and also been able to contribute something positive for the promotion and development of photography as a visiting lecturer for a number of Government and Private organisations, Workshop-Guide and Trainer, organiser of Salons and seminars, Moderator and paper setter for the vocational institute and judges for many National and International exhibitions. He has earned laurels both at home and abroad. He is the winner of UNESCO/ACCU Award, Indo-Soviet Friendship award, Gronftsher Photo Award, UNESCO World Photo Award, Lalit Kala Akademi Award, UP State Lalit Kala Akademi Award and many more.
He has been conferred with life time achievement award by the Academy of Visual Media, New Delhi in 2007. He has just recently been conferred with the one of the highest honour ESFIA(excellence service Federation International de l’ art Photographique) for the service in photography by the UN recognized organization FIAP, Belgium.
As a Photo Journalist he has not only provided the main coverage for the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi from the day he assumes office in 1984 till 1989, but also was the Photographer on behalf of the Government of India to provide the coverage of the historic visit of Dr. Nelson Mandela to India in 1990 and 1995 besides having the attachment with many foreign Heads of States. He has the experience of attending and covering the historic inauguration of the first black President of South Africa in 1994. He has the honour of traveling with the Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi to Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee for photographic coverage of their visits within the country and abroad. He is amongst few in the world who has attended the Non-Alignment Summit for five times and UN for three times as a media representative.
As Director Photo Division, he has taken up the job of complete digitalization of its collection with the state of art technology, and also made an opportunity for the cross referencing of the entire photo archives allowing the users from any part of the globe to access the materials. He has also recently conducted a unique training programme for the photo reporter and report of the Bakhter News Agency in Afghanistan to initiate their National Digital Photo Archive at Kabul.
His photographs are published in many National Daily’s, Journals, Regional Newspapers, Books, Catalogue, Govt. Calender etc. . He is the contributing author of the book Learn Photography. He has contributed/published many articles on photography.
Besides his involvement as photographer he is also significantly contributed in other form of performing arts as a playwright, Director and Actor for a number of plays. He is the author of at least 10 short plays and 2 full-length dramas. He is also a freelancing drama critic and News Reader (Bengali) with All India Radio. He has the passion of writing and reciting poetry and short story. He has received a number of Awards as best playwright and Director for Bengali short plays in Kolkata and New Delhi.
He has the rare honour of putting up ten solo exhibition of photographic Art at Bhopal, Indore, New Delhi, Kolkata and Santiniketan besides participating in more than 30 group shows in the country and abroad. He is a regular exhibitor of the National Photo Exhibition organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi, All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, Delhi Shahitya Kala Parishad etc.
Lalit Kala Akademi has sponsored one of his solo exhibitions in 1995 to mark his Silver Jubilee Year in Photography. Visva Bharati sponsored his solo exhibition in 2000 at the Nandan Art Gallery, Shantiniketan. Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture in Kolkata organised his solo exhibition in its Museum and Art gallery. That was a rare exhibition as it was supposed to be first ever solo exhibition put up by the Museum in RKMIC. Recently Chitra Kala Sangam of Delhi has put up his unique solo show titled “Planet Earth”
He has compiled and edited the Book MAHATMA GANDHI, A PICTORIAL ALBLUM brought out by the Photo Division to mark the celebration of 100 years Satyagraha.

To begin at the beginning… how did you get started?

I can’t say that it is a mater of chance, because my first love was theatre in which I was actively associated as a Director, playwright as well as an actor between my age of 19-25. But photography is hereditary. My father was keen in photography. Though not in profession, he had his hand made camera in the period of 1940’s. He has encouraged younger generation to work and create photographic work. As a result it was the birth of Photographic Association of Dum Dum in 1957 with Benu Sen, his elder son as one of the founder member with his next younger brother and friends/ associates. And the blood spread through all the five son’s of Manindranath to be associated with photography, Benu being the eldest.

However as my first love was theatre and wanted to take it as a profession I never thought of taking photography that seriously, excepting to hold the traditional torch. And that may also be a reason I initiated with photography little late i.e. after completion of Higher Secondary Exam i.e. 1969 and later actively associated since 1970. It was a matter of chance that I got my first offer of a government job in photography in 1975 in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and that’s the beginning and going on.

What equipment you currently using and why. Do you think costly equipments are necessary for good photography?

I have no passion of choosing a camera. Whatever camera I get, I like to shoot with that. First camera I used in brother’s studio was a folding camera with a cap as a shutter and individual negative plate. But with that I have also used Beatiflex Twin Lens Reflex camera. I possessed my first Camera Yashica TL a SLR that too sometime at the end of seventy.

However for official works I have started using Rolleiflex TLR as well as Rollei SLR , Leica, Graflex during my first two years in the new profession. After leaving Health organization I got associated with Museum of Man (presently known as the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manab Sangrahalaya) where I started using Nikon, Mamya, Canon as well as 16mm film cameras etc. I have used a various type of camera.

AT the moment I have been equipped with both D2X as well as D300 besides my conventional cameras like 90X, FM2, FG20 all Nikon brand. Though personally I feel as a creative worker it is not the camera which works it is the man behind the camera which works. But as a teacher in Photography I do emphasise that equipments play a very important role. And the requirement of camera depends not on trade mark but by the type of your work. As a pictorialist you can use any camera. If you are a sensitive photographer you can even create excellent photographs with a compact camera.
People discuss on the digital camera and think in terms of the mega pixel and decide the camera on the basis of its Mega-pixel. But I think mega pixel may be one factor but what is important is the sensor of the digital camera.

Camera has some special role to play. Like for fashion you need different type of cameras, for advertising your need again different one and simultaneously for Photo Journalism your requirement is further different. So it depends on your association and output.

Which medium you prefer, b/w, colour film, colour transparency and why? You like conventional or digital photography.

This is obviously a difficult question to answer for a professionals. Particularly when he involved in multifarious activities. As many of you possibly know that I grown up in a situation seeing only the creative work, ie pictorial photography as a whole. In my formative years I have no passion than the creative work. And that possibly comes automatically with most of the people that his world is the only world of work and that is final. But when you are in a broader world and see the sea changes in the fields with the passage of time, then you realize that your requirement is different. Now as a specific pictorial photographer I would definitely express my reflect that I do prefer the Black and White pictures and there is many reasons for it. But it does not necessarily mean that I don’t like coulour photograph. These are all the necessity for a professional as he has to produce something on order and needs. You can say it is like a bonded labour, because you have to fulfill the need of your client. But off course so far as the colour film and the transparency is concerned it is obvious the preference would be tp. The reason is the technology and reliability of the materials. Moreover it gives you to see the original effects what you wanted to presents. Which is missing in the colour films?
But the other question of spelling the liking of the conventional or Digital one, it would again be a vague answer. As the tools an the raw materials depends on what you would like to produce. Moreover you have to admit that with the change of time the technology is being changed. And with the change of technology and modernization the approach of the working is also being changed. Twenty five years back no one could visualize the revolution on the information technology. Infact all you know there was a tremendous political turmoil when Rajiv Gandhi tried to introduce the computer. When people shifted from the big format camera to miniature camera there was tremendous confusion amongst the user whether they would be able to produce a large size print out a picture taken with the 35mm camera. Similarly when digital camera came it was from minimum megapixels. Now it from one to two, two to five or six and people can think of even a fifty megapixel cameras. We were not aware of the technology and its handlings and the outcome. Things have changed. Conventional materials are being removed from the market. Naturally you need to depend on the new technology. Moreover one thing is very clear and that is you have many control in your hand.
I can site an example of the benefit of the digital technology or using the digital camera. I being a professional in the photojournalism also what I need is to dispatch my materials at the shortest time. In the eighties when we use to accompany the vvips like the Prime Minister or the President or any other visiting heads of states to provide the photo publicity of the respective vvips, your first and foremost work was to dispatch the materials to your headquarter or your country. Now when you take a photograph with a conventional camera then first you have to rush to the lab and process the films and make few prints out of your coverage. Then you have to rush your nearest overseas communication centre to radio photo the same. Once your dispatch is over then your headquarter has to be alert to collect the materials from the respective OCS for production in the newspaper or if you are in an agency then reproduce the same and distribute amongst the clients. This process on many occasions kills your deadlines as the entire process takes not less then three to four hours even more. Now with the present communication system you can send your picture directly from the venue to your users. Users can put the images directly for pagination. Many other possibilities are available.
Need of the equipments for Industrial work is different; similarly you need to have a different type of equipments when you are involved in advertising work. For easy creation and the manipulation for ad materials digital manipulation is obviously more supportable. Today IT has invaded globe, tomorrow technology may again be changed. It would not be wise to stick to one. Accept every new thing and as long as it is continuing let us also take the advantage of such medium if it is worth. Must not be surprised by many ifs and buts. This is obvious and has to survive on it. So it is better to be open to use the medium what you need for the outcome of your ultimate production.

Have you studied photography any where?

Yes I have a formal study of one year basics and after the successful completion of the same two years diploma course in photography.

Can you name few photographers who influenced you or you find that you consciously or unconsciously copy his style.

It is very difficult question to answer. But if you think in terms of influencing in my work in photography two names definitely comes ie i. Benu Sen, my elder brother and the living legend of Indian photographic art. and ii. Chandralekha my wife. But I can confidently state it is not the style of the work of Benu Sen which I ever thought to copy or imbibe the style which have been done by many next generation PAD’ ians, but I was influenced by his dedication for the medium and his style of encouragement which motivate and give support to do something creative. And my wife she has not only having a good vision and understanding she has a sense of DEKHA by which she can motivate one to produce more perfect work. But truly speaking I was never been influenced by any one’s work and tried to create the work of my own from my own understanding and sense. I can appreciate the work of Raja Deendayal, J Anuwala, Homai Vyarawalla , Benu Sen, O P Sharma, C Rajagopal, Waman Thakre or Bourne, Shephered, Methew Brady, Alfred Eisensteadt, Henry Cartier Bresso, Arther Rothstein, Alfred Stiegletz, Margaret Burkee White, Robert Capa, Ansel Adam, Yousuf Carsh, Wellington Lee, Pedro Luis Raota, Jerry Uelsmann or many more from England, Finland, German, Russia, China, Vietnam, Japan etc. but I was never been influenced by any legends ever. My feeling for my work is that what impress me as a good picture that is good. I always like to look something new. But one thing I would like to clearly mention that before I express such confidence I should be very clear about my work and should be able to spell out why I like that particular picture.

How would you rate Indian photographers with their International counterparts?

I can’t reply on such questions. Because I feel comparison in such professional field would be a foolish job. Every where you will find good worker. Each division of photography has produced many great workers. Indians are also not lacking behind. In the pictorials or creative field Indian photographers are in the steering seat. In the fashion and the advertising line Indian contribution is equally important. In photojournalism again there are many photographers who have a tremendous contribution.

What are the most important point to consider when you are photographing anything?

This is the most important question. There are many important points to be kept in mind. Firstly I would prefer to study my assignments. This is applicable for any kind of assignments. When one study his assignment he has to keep many things in mind. As par example what are the things are involved. It may involve the person, products, atmosphere, projects and many things. So before taking the actual shooting one has to go through each one of the things. Once this part is over then you have to take the technical aspect in terms of its presentation, contents, placement, quality of your final product, use of a proper lighting etc. Each of this has a different need and one has to fulfill the same to get a good product. But one important term we should keep in mind ie. BALANCE. Picture needs to be a balanced one. When one use this term balance it hast to be balance in all respect, means it has to be compositional balance, subjective balance, tonal balance, colour balance, and so on.

In the age of automatic cameras do you feel that basic knowledge of photography techniques is necessary for better photography?

Obviously yes. As without knowing the alphabet one cannot write a poetry and without knowing the grammar one cannot write a correct sentence, similarly without knowing the basic one cannot be a good photographer. Basic is the first step of your goal. One may ask what is necessary to learn about the basic starting from the conventional system. Reply is simple and you can make out if you can define it properly. Firstly what do we mean about photography. Photography is nothing but a scientific process of obtaining the sketch by a means of light. Where does it indicate whether it is conventional or it’s a digital. And secondly it does stand on two basic principles. For conventional it is the optical principle and the chemical principle and in case of digital it is optical principle and mathematical principle. So what does it mean is a type of camera and its technology. That is the practical aspect. One must try to go in depth on the basic of photography.

Which field of photography – Pictorial, Journalism, Nature, Fashion Still life or Advertising you like most.

I being a photographer associated with the Government and the department which is involved in multifarious activities, which involves everything. And also I am personally involved in multifarious activities. I do love pictorial work. But pictorial means is not the typical salon picture. Now style of work in all the areas have changed. As per example the news picture or the reference of photojournalism what we see this day major are pictorially excellent. Particularly the photo agencies are very particular in selecting pictures. I am involved in nature and photojournalism and other branches equally.

Is there anything in particular would you like to share with budding photographers?

I would like to mention one point that we need to be dedicated to our job. A sincere honest attitude only can help us in doing good work.

Interview of Threes Kapoor

2009-02-13T05:10:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

This time I am publishing the interview of Mr Threes Kapoor. Basically a moutaneer and Landscape Photographer. He loves moutraines. Enjoy and learn from his interview and photographs.He can be contacted at ---threesh@rediffmail.com Rajendra

To begin at the beginning…how did you get started?
I was born in the hills of Utterakhand in Almora town.Since child hood I was interested in nature and art.I got my first camera a boc when I was in class sixth.Since then Iam photographing.
What equipment you currently use and why. Do you think costly equipments are necessary for good photography?
At present Iam using a canon 350d degital camera with 18-55 and 75-300 zoom lenses.Iam using this camera because I wanted to swith over from Nikon analog to Canon digital because of quick focusing and low noice.That time this was the cheapest camera.I dont think costly equipment are necessary for good photography therefore Ihave the basic model.But now I have started feeling that I need full frame body with some fast lense .
Which medium you prefer, B/W, Color Film or Colour Transparency and why?
Initially I was using B/W and than colour slide because colour printing was not available at my place and slides were easy to project for my social work and printing.
You like conventional or Digital phototherapy why?
I had a feling that no one can rplace film photography but when I could not get films of my choice I switched over to digital.It is having many limitations but lot of conveniance .Now I can shoot as many shots I like and get resonable qualit images.
Have you studied photography anywhere?
I am a self taught man and have not studied photographyany where.I feel that is my weakness.
Can you name few photographers who influenced you or you find that you consciously or unconsciously copy his style?
I was influenced by Shri Sharad Devare,Shri T.Kasinath,Kr Shukdeo,Anil Risal Sing,Shri Naresh Singh and Ansal Admas.
How would you rate Indian photographers with their International counterparts?
-Indian photographers are thebest in the world.
Photography is your profession or only your hobby?

Photography is my hobby though I have contributed ffor over 28 boods and many calenders ,diaries,greetings cards etc
Iam Chairman of Uttaranchal Gramin Bank on deputation from State Bank of INdia.IIam Dy G.M. of SBI.
Which field of photography-Pictorial, Journalism, Nature , Fashion Still life or Advertising you like most and why?
Iam basically a land scape photographer and that too of Himalayas .Himalayas are themost beautiful creation of the nature.
In your view which is your best photograph and why ?
Iam yet to shoot my best photo as i fel after that my creative thinking will stop.
Besides photography what are your other hobbies?
Iam a social worker and trekker and mountaineer.
You have got prizes in many completion please let us know about few of them.
Over 500 acceptances alover the country and abroad.Awards from MUMBAI,Calcutta,Lucknow ,Nainital,Bareilly etc places.
Please tell us how and when you got your different honors.
I got AIIPC some time in 1993
Have you written any book, discovered any process, then let us know about that?
I have contributed for over 28 books .Valley of flower and Kailash mansarover 1078 shiva chrome are my exclusive books .
Tell us about future of photography in India.
Iam from a small town ,no one efer taught me.Therefore when ever I get a chance Iarrange free workshops for remote places,give lecture to school and institute ,arrange slide shows and organise photography exhibitions.I have started first art gallery of Uttarakhand in Dehradun in my office and the place is available to all photographers free of cost for 15 days with all support.Iam building pressure on state Govt to start a art centre in the state.Iam also building a Himalaya study cintre at Kausani which will have 3 art galleries ,cinemascope and amphitheater.
What you did or whish to do for budding photographers.
Study light and do photgraphy.Taking photogrphs will make you god photographer.There is no substitute to hard work.

Interview of Rohinton Mehta

2009-02-02T05:54:00.000-08:00

Dear readers,
I had gone Lucknow to attend the 24th FIP Convention of photography as a Facuty of advance digital imaging from 5th to 8th Decemner 2008. There I met Mr Rohinton Mehta, Technical Editor, Smart Photography. He gave a very good talk on Digital photography there. At the age of about 60 Mr Mehta is more energetic than me .He is called as uncle Ronnie by his lovers. Ronnie has over 30 years of experience in photography. In fact he has taught several thousand photo-enthusiasts in various institutions and through workshops, as well as judged many national and International photo contests including prestigious Photo Contest held at Colombo, Sri Lanka. Due too similar interests we soon became good friends . For your benefit I am publishing his interview. If you have any photo-queries, whether Conventional or Digital, don’t hesitate, just go ahead and ask Uncle Ronnie at sp@nextgenpublishing.net ....................Rajendra

To begin at the beginning…how did you get started?

During my childhood, I used to 'play with' my father's two box cameras. Due to very limited resources, I was allowed only one roll (12 exposures in the 120 size roll) per year. I was also very found of hunting. I had a air-gun and would use it to shoot birds etc. In 1972, my better half took a promise from me that I would not use a gun. She insisted that I shoot with a camera. So, I got my first Rangefinder camera from a roadside seller. The camera had a defect - the exposure meter was not working. The seller refused to take it back. My wife's words echo in my ears even now - she said, "how could you let a roadside seller fool you? I thought I had married an intelligent guy". This hurt me a lot and I decided to study photography so no one could fool me again.

As I gained knowledge, I realised that I was able to guide my friends and the attention I got made me feel very happy (I am human after all!).
I decided to study well and be as good as one of my 'gurus' - the late mitter Bedi (though I can never be as good as him), under whom I learnt Industrial Photography. His method of teaching was something I loved and today, I owe a lot to him (as well as my other 'gurus').

Do you think costly equipment is necessary for good photography?
Photographers in the past made excellent images even though the quality of cameras, lenses, film-developing chemicals, printing papers and printing chemicals were nowhere in quality as we have them now. So one can conclude that the quality of the equipment is not as important as the person behind the camera.

Having said so, it would be hypocritical of me to say that good equipment is not important. I feel that in the present scenario, good equipment is very much a necessity. I know that some photographers will not agree with me but if you were to ask the same persons what equipment they use, you'll find that all of them use top-notch equipment. If good equipment was not necessary, then why do these same people, who want to hog the limelight (and claim that it is only the person behind the camera that is important) use sophisticated equipment? One such person I know mentioned that as a pro, he needed better equipment. Why the double standard? In my opinion, a beginner or an amateur needs very robust equipment because he is more likely to misuse the equipment due to his poor knowledge of handling. Moreover, with today's high-resolution digital sensors, it is imperative that you use the best possible lenses, if you need to get the most out of your equipment.

Let me also add here that without good knowledge of equipment and photography in general, the best equipment can do little. In fact, the more advanced your camera, the more you need to understand its working, and yes, in that sense, you could say that the man behind the camera is more important than the equipment.

Which medium do you prefer - B/W, Color Film or Color Transparency and why?
When I was using films, my choice was Color Transparencies. Because TPs are projected (as opposed to seeing prints by reflected light), they provide greater brilliance.

I no longer use films. I prefer color images to black and white as we see in color. Not that I dislike B&W images; I just love color more.

You like conventional or Digital phototherapy - why?

I prefer digital as it allows me total control of what I want to achieve.

Can you name few photographers who influenced you or you find that you consciously or unconsciously copy their style?

Mitter Bedi, Ansel Adams, John Saxton, John shaw, Fred Picker and a few more.

How would you rate Indian photographers with their International counterparts?
Indian photographers are just as good, if not better, than their International counterparts.

What are the most important points to consider when you are photographing anything?
Content, Composition, Exposure and Presentation. I believe that the most important point is the Content of the picture. You may have a perfectly exposed picture of a heap of garbage; would anyone like to put up such a picture in one's sitting room?

Though I put a lot of stress on Exposure (which includes the final image quality), consider this scenario: If a UFO was photographed but the exposure was wrong, do you think any photo editor would dare not to print it in the next day's newspaper? If he did that, he would probably be without a job! So, in most instances, the Content is the primary importance.

A good Composition can enhance a not-so-good picture while a bad Composition could ruin a otherwise good picture. How you present your images is also very important. If a picture is dog-eared, or has dust-stops, scratches etc, I would hesitate to accept that image.

In this age of automatic cameras do you feel that basic knowledge of photography techniques is necessary for better photography?

Absolutely. You can have the best car in the world but if you don't use the recommended fuel...

Is photography your profession or your hobby?

My hobby is my profession!

Which field of photography-Pictorial, Journalism, Nature , Fashion, Still life or Advertising you like most and why?

As a photography teacher, I am conversant with all genres of photography but my personal preference is for nature photography, which includes wildlife and landscape photography.

In your view which is your best photograph and why ?

I love most of the pictures I create. I have never given it a thought to find which one is my best photo.

Besides photography, what are your other hobbies?
Reading, music, and anything else that has something to do with the human mind, human psychology. For example, I am very interested in knowing how the human mind works, the science of hypnotism, how things work (anything). I am also very interested in the art of public speaking. Note that I do not read novels but like to read comics. If a novel has something to teach me, that's a different story altogether.
Have got prizes competitions?Please let us know about few of them.

To be very frank, I do not have many prizes to talk about. The reason is that I stopped taking part in competitions a long way back. I was disgusted when a particular person (whom I do not wish to revel) maliciously removed my name from a shield (on pretext of cleaning the shield). I have also seen, time and again, how certain persons try to influence the judges before a photo competition. As hard as it may sound, I have known of some judges who have made the prints for the contestants and then selected the same images during the judging. Because of such instances, I had stopped sending my entries to photo competitions. And as such, I do not have prizes I can talk about.

Please tell us how and when you got your different honors.
This has been another of my grouse. In around 1978 I was offered a certain photography honor by making some payment. How that person would have gone about this, is something I do not know. It made me feel very upset and hence I did not try for any honors. In fact, I was preparing for LRPS but after this incident, I gave up. The reader may want to know who that person is, but it is not my intention to lower someone's prestige (even though he may deserve just that). I am an honorary member of The Photographic Society of India.

Have you written any book, discovered any process, then let us know about that?

We all learn from books and magazines and from those who know their subject well. I do want to publish a book on photography (along with a very good friend from Hyderabad) but work pressure is not allowing me free time. When I do have the free time, the frame of mind is often not conducive to writing a book. I cannot say that I have 'discovered' any (secret) process as whatever I know has been from my 'gurus' and other authors. Sometimes, I may be able to take a part of one process/study and combine it with another, but that can not be called as something I discovered or invented.

Tell us about the future of photography in India.

Universally, photography is gaining in importance but I feel, here in India, a lot needs to be done. Photography should be taught at school level as a subject and not merely considered as a hobby. Even then the future for photography in India is bright but we do need our government's support and blessings to make it flourish as it has in developed countries.

What have you done or wish to do for budding photographers?
I am happy that I am able to play an important part in teaching photography through Smart Photography magazine. I would love to conduct workshops on conventional as well as digital imaging all over the country and maybe, even abroad. I would also like to train the dealers of all camera manufacturers so that they are better informed about what they are selling. This way, the consumer as well as the manufacturers stand to gain.

Is there anything in particular you would like to share with budding photographers?

Certainly. Digital Imaging is something you have to live with, whether you like it or not. I notice that the younger generation (not everyone, fortunately!) does not want to take the trouble of studying the basics. They think that having a latest camera is more important than knowing what the camera is capable of doing. They do not even want to study the most important book they can find for their particular camera - the User Manual. Take it from me, that even if you are a wizard with your digital camera, you are only a "40-percent photographer". You need to be conversant with an image-editing program like Photoshop. Digital camera and Photoshop go hand in hand. One, without the other, will leave you lacking. With Photoshop in particular, you need to go over the same technique time and again or else you are bound to forget.

Interview Of Sri Debidas Banerjee

2009-01-24T06:22:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,
This time I am publishing interview of Sri Debidas Banerjee of Kolkata. Hope you will learn from reading his interview and seeing his photographs. For any question you can contact him directly on his email debidas_b@hotmail.com
If you like to see more photographs ckicked by himm please visi his blog
http://www.debidas.blogspot/

To begin at the beginning how did you get started?
Like all young people I was interested in photography at my young age. My father was a good photographer and a habit to use plate camera but he did not allow me to handle those and that is why I became more interested. Observing my keen interest on photography, on 15th August 1970 my office friends presented me a Yascia 635 camera as a gift in my wedding. I started photography seriously at my age of 32 in 1976 when I got admission in Free Evening Course of Photography conducted by Photographic Association of Dum Dum(PAD). I completed successfully the 2 years Diploma Course in Photography in the year 1978 from PAD.

What equipment you currently use and why? Do you think costly equipments are necessary for good photography?

Since 2006, I am using D70 DSLR with kit lens 18-70mm. I have bought another lens 70-300mm VR in the year 2008. In my early years I was mainly interested in Creative Monochrome Prints. In the process of creation I used to do everything from clicking the shot through my Nikon FM2 and finally producing the creative print through my enlarger in darkroom. Due to various reasons I did not click from 2000 to 2006. In 2006 I purchased D70 which was costly at that time and resumed my photography. I can only say if it was not a digital one I would not be in the line of taking of photographs at the age of 62+. I feel costly equipment, if handled judiciously will give better result.

You like Conventional or Digital Photography why?

Though the large span of my photography life is covered by Conventional Analog Photography but if I could not match myself with Digital Photography, I am afraid I may not be in a position in producing Creative Pictures. I feel Digital Photography has brought comfort in the field of Photography.

Have you studied photography anywhere?

Yes, as I mentioned already that I have studied Photography in PAD and completed successfully their Diploma in the year 1978.

Can you name few photographers who influenced you or you find that you consciously or unconsciously copy his style?

My father Late Sailen Banerjee was the main inspiration behind my development in the field of Photography. Every member of my family, my wife Smt Bithi Banerjee, my two daughters namely Smt, Bornali Bhattacharyya and Swarnali Banerjee and even my son in law, Shri Abhijit Bhattacharyya inspiring me to be in the field of photography. When I started participation in various salons I came to see works of many photo artists of our country and abroad. Shri Benu Sen is my teacher and till now I am getting his valued advice in developing my carrier in photography. During my course of photography I was impressed by the works of Shri Susanta Banerjee, , Shri C. Rajagopal, Shri O.P.Sharma and Padmasree Shri Kasinath.

How would you rate Indian Photographers with their International Counterparts?

With the limited available gadgets Indian Photographers are doing well and keeping their place in World Photography.

What are the most important points to consider when you are photographing anything?

Most important point is to get prepared in advance to catch the right moment at the right time.

In this age of Automatic Cameras do you feel that Basic knowledge of photography techniques is necessary for better photography?

Yes, basic knowledge will help to use the camera according to the need to get the desired results.

Photography is your profession or only your hobby?

It is not my profession. As a profession I used to serve Reserve Bank of India, wherefrom I retired in May 2004. Photography is my hobby.

If it is your hobby then what do you do for your survival?

I used to work as an Officer in RBI. Since retirement in 2004, I am getting my pension. Thus I can carry out my Passion without any hesitation.

Which field of photography-Pictorial, Journalism, Nature, Fashion, Still Life or Advertising you like most and why?

I am interested in Pictorial Photography with special interest in human activities. Man is the most valued creation of Nature and its representation in photography will able us to get the knowledge of its various behavioral pattern.

In your view which is your best photograph and why?

One of my photographs titled The Lonley Shepherd, I consider the best creation of mine. It was made with 4 negatives and application of Photogram process. I visualized a thought and brought the presentation through Picture Creation. In 1995 Ruis, Spain organized a competition salon with only the last 4 years Award winning photographs where the above mentioned Picture was awarded. I was the only Indian entrant with the Award.

Besides photography what are your other hobbies?

I am interested in games and music also.

You have got prizes in many competitions-please let us know about few of them.

I have so many Awards, but it is a long list. Recently in 2006 I got Award in Howrah International, in 2007 in Lumen2007 international and in 2008 in 5th Adana Rotary Club, Turkey and with FIAP Silver Medal in Sri Lanka International.

Have you written any book, discovered any process, then let us know about that?

I have written various articles on photography. My article on Infra Ray Photography was published in PSA Journal. I took active part in publication of text books in photography published by Chhayapath. My articles are also there.

As far as discovery of process is concerned I can say that I am the pioneer in producing of Pictures of straight shoots in conjunction of Photogram process.

Tell us about future of photography in India.

Future of Indian photography is very bright. My only request to the senior photographers is to help the younger generation to put them on the right path which may remove time barrier and help them to secure a place in the world of photography.

Is there anything in particular would you like to share with budding photographers?

I like to say that one should not spoil their precious time. Take photography after a deep thought and then go ahead seriously. What I like to say to the young photographers that work sincerely and success will automatically come.

As a result of my work I was invited abroad twice in the year 1995. Once in Suwon in South Korea to take participation in 200th year of Suwon Castle Fortification and again Hongkong and Macau as a Guest lecturer in FAPA Convention.

Adobe lightroom 2 FAQ

2008-12-12T18:55:00.000-08:00

What is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2?
Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2 software is designed specifically for professional and advanced amateur photographers. It is an efficient, powerful way to import, process, manage, and showcase large volumes of digital photographs. Lightroom enables you to spend less time sorting and organizing images, so you have more time to actually shoot and perfect them.
Who uses Photoshop Lightroom 2?
First and foremost, Photoshop Lightroom 2 is a product for serious photographers, especially those who work with large volumes of digital images. These include fashion and portrait photographers; photojournalists; and wedding, landscape, and commercial photographers as well as passionate amateur photographers who aspire to achieve the same results as the pros and who demand the same level of quality in their tools. Lightroom is also used by educators and students, as the next generation of professional photographers hone their skills in the classroom.
What's new in Photoshop Lightroom 2?
Photoshop Lightroom 2 offers a host of enhancements to help manage, process, and showcase your photos more easily than ever before. Make more accurate enhancements by targeting a specific area of a photo for dodging and burning. Instantly find photos faster using the information most relevant to your workflow. Multiple monitor support enables you to configure your workspace to manage image workflow and presentation more efficiently. Work even more smoothly with Adobe Photoshop CS4 software (sold separately), switching with a single click to perform pixel-level editing. Quickly arrange a photo for printing multiple sizes on one or many pages with more flexible templates. And take advantage of third-party plug-ins to help you quickly and easily transfer images to popular photo-sharing sites.
What file formats does Photoshop Lightroom 2 support?
Photoshop Lightroom supports more than 190 native camera raw file formats, in addition to DNG, TIFF, and JPEG files — in other words, the formats primarily used in digital cameras. In addition, Photoshop Lightroom 2 also supports the Photoshop PSD file format for enhanced integration with Photoshop CS4. For a complete list of manufacturers and models supported in Camera Raw, see www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html.
Is Photoshop Lightroom 2 a photo-editing tool or a workflow productivity tool?
Photoshop Lightroom 2 provides a single environment that has all of the functions photographers most commonly need to perform on their images, in the cleanest, least cluttered, easiest to use package. Lightroom contains a focused set of features that are intuitive, powerful, and easy to learn. It is an image-editing tool and a workflow productivity tool. Photographers who require extensive painting and compositing tools and need to edit their images at the pixel level will still use Photoshop CS4 to achieve their additional goals.
How does Photoshop Lightroom 2 differ from Adobe Photoshop CS4?
Adobe Photoshop CS4 software is the industry standard in digital image editing. Photoshop holds an important place in the pro photographer's toolbox, for detailed pixel-level editing and compositing, but photographers face a variety of workflow concerns beyond image editing. Lightroom 2 addresses these needs in a photographer-centric way. Each module in Lightroom is dedicated to an essential photographic task — use the Library for importing and managing photos; the Develop module for fundamental photographic adjustments and processing hundreds of photographs at a time; and the Slideshow, Web, and Print modules to easily present photos onscreen, online, or in print. Lightroom also goes further, enabling you to manage raw files, even if they are offline, with automatic importing from the folder on your computer used for tethered shooting.
Lightroom excels at processing large volumes of photographs, creating the perfect negative, and outputting collections to the web, print, and slide shows. Photoshop remains the ultimate pixel-level, individual image-editing, and compositing application. Together, Lightroom and Photoshop are the comprehensive software duo for post-processing and editing of digital imagery.
For example, you may have 2,000 photographs and need to quickly preview, sort and rate them, embed your copyright on each, correct white balance, change tonal and color values, and make monochrome copies (or add a wide array of other special effects). Then, you need to output to a slide show, print, or the web, and all under the pressure of time constraints. For this common type of photographic workflow, Lightroom is the ideal solution.
Now perhaps some of your photographs are destined for an advertising layout. After choosing the best images, you may need to add a special effect to a model's eyes or change the pattern of a dress or pull the model completely away from her background to create an intricate, multilayered composite. For this, Photoshop is the ideal solution.
How does Lightroom 2 differ from Adobe Bridge?
Adobe Bridge is an essential image tool for web, print, and dynamic media designers; videographers; animators; scientists; fine artists; and numerous other industries around the globe. It is literally the bridge between the applications in Adobe Creative Suite®, enabling files to be quickly moved through varied workflows. Professionals use Adobe Bridge to browse files and pass them through many applications — from Photoshop and Illustrator® to InDesign® and Acrobat®, or to Flash® and Dreamweaver® or After Effects® and Adobe Premiere® Pro.
Because Adobe Bridge plays such a vital role for many different professions, it includes several features that are not specifically targeted at photographers. This complexity may be essential for the designer or post-production artist, but for photographers, Lightroom cuts to the core, without compromising power, flexibility, or quality. Because it has been created with the input of working photographers (including commercial, portrait, wedding, and fine art photographers; photojournalists; and others), Lightroom targets the most important and time-critical tasks to make them as efficient as possible.
One of the fundamental differences between Adobe Bridge and Lightroom is the way each application stores information about images. Adobe Bridge is a file browser, which navigates folders on a local drive and displays the contents. Photographers, however, often need to reference files stored on removable media such as a DVD or remote hard drive. While Adobe Bridge is incapable of displaying these offline files, Lightroom takes an extended view beyond the local disk — it can work with offline files because it is catalog-driven. Importing photographs to Lightroom is the method by which new images are added to its catalog. Photographic files do not need to be moved or copied when they are imported — the Lightroom catalog keeps track of where the originals are located, whether they are on your local hard drive or not.
The Lightroom catalog model also speeds the access to information, creating lightning-fast searches based on standard EXIF and IPTC metadata or simple keywords. And just as your photographs don't need to be stored on your local hard drive, neither does your Lightroom data. Multiple catalogs can be created, whether they are for individual clients and projects, or for students and their corresponding assignments, and they can be located on a local or removable drive for portability and security. Finally, the Lightroom catalog keeps track of information such as virtual copies; collections of images; editing history and snapshots; and slide show, print, and web templates — information that would be difficult to efficiently store otherwise.
Does Photoshop Lightroom 2 replace Adobe Bridge or Camera Raw?
For some, it might. Having an interface that is 100% tuned to the photography workflow and some additional unique features may mean some people will use Lightroom instead of Bridge. On the other hand, some photographers will need or want the broad capabilities of Adobe Bridge — such as integration with Adobe Creative Suite 4; the ability to preview PDF, InDesign, and Illustrator documents; and workgroup management tools. So many users will continue to use Adobe Bridge as well.
How does Lightroom 2 work with Adobe Camera Raw?
If you work with photographs in Photoshop CS4 or Adobe Bridge, you use Camera Raw to achieve the same kinds of editing as you would in Lightroom. In fact, Lightroom uses the same underlying processing engine as Camera Raw, which delivers consistent and compatible results across Adobe applications. Adobe understands that individual photographers work in many different ways. We are committed to providing customers not only with the choice of which software to use, but also with the ability to use multiple applications together as needed.
Where the Camera Raw implementation in Adobe Bridge or Photoshop has the same functions as Lightroom, you will find virtually identical options and sliders. That means you can move back and forth without confusion or the need for extra learning. Where Lightroom contains additional enhancements to raw processing, the enhancements you make will be recognized when the photo file is opened in Camera Raw. A typical example is the Targeted Adjustment tool that is exclusive to Lightroom.
Are there special requirements to make sure editing in Lightroom 2 is recognized by Camera Raw in Photoshop and Adobe Bridge?
Lightroom and Photoshop Camera Raw share the same image processing technology to ensure consistent and compatible results across applications that support raw processing. These applications include Photoshop CS4, Photoshop Elements 6.0 for Mac, Photoshop Elements 6.0, and Premiere Elements 4.0 for Windows®.
Photoshop Camera Raw 5Adobe applications must be updated with the Camera Raw 5 plug-in to ensure compatibility with Lightroom 2 Develop module settings. Photoshop CS4 users can update the Camera Raw plug-in automatically using the Update tool listed under the Help menu. The Camera Raw 5 plug-in can also be downloaded and installed manually by visiting the Camera Raw file support page. Follow the installation instructions carefully.
Sharing Lightroom settings with Camera Raw 5By default, Lightroom's Develop module settings are stored in the Lightroom catalog. To ensure that Lightroom develop settings can be viewed by Camera Raw 5, the settings must be written to the XMP metadata block for that file. This metadata is stored in an XMP sidecar file (Imagename.xmp) in the current image directory of proprietary raw files or stored directly within DNG files. To update images with the latest Develop settings, choose the Library module and select the group of target images. Choose the shortcut Command (Ctrl + S) to save the settings to the XMP metadata block.
Sidecar XMP files are only required when moving photo files back and forth between Lightroom and Adobe Bridge or Photoshop CS4 for use in Camera Raw. If you prefer, you can simply wait until the files need to be moved to Bridge or Photoshop, and only then select the photos in the Library module in Lightroom, and then choose Metadata > XMP > Export XMP Metadata To Files.
Viewing Lightroom settings in Camera Raw 5Before working in conjunction with Lightroom and Camera Raw, please set the Camera Raw preference to save image settings in sidecar XMP files. By default, Camera Raw will display the image adjustments exactly as performed in the Lightroom Develop module.
Will my raw images look the same in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop Lightroom 2?
Yes. Photoshop Lightroom 2 leverages the same core Adobe Camera Raw technology used in Photoshop CS4. This means that not only will raw images look the same in either application, but also that changes you make in Lightroom can appear in Camera Raw and vice versa. To complete this interactivity, changes in both Camera Raw and Lightroom need to be written to XMP metadata. This is so that each software application can recognize the other's edits. This functionality is set in the preferences in each product.
Will Lightroom 2 recognize adjustments to photos made in earlier versions of Adobe Camera Raw?
Raw files edited by previous versions of Camera Raw will maintain their previous appearance when imported to Lightroom. For Lightroom to respect the previous edit, those files must have been edited with the preference set to save image settings in sidecar XMP files. Files edited in Camera Raw after being imported to Lightroom can be updated in Lightroom by choosing Metadata > Read Metadata From Files. Note that this menu option is only available from the Library.
How are the different versions of my photographs stored when I edit them with Photoshop Lightroom 2?
Photoshop Lightroom 2 is a completely nondestructive editing environment because, in fact, your photographs are never changed. Instead, the changes you make to your photographs are stored in metadata as a series of instructions. Whether you are viewing them onscreen, creating a web gallery, or making prints, Lightroom is simply applying those instructions to the original, untouched photo file. This enables the photographer complete flexibility, control, and creative exploration, with the knowledge that any change applied to an image is 100% reversible at any time — today, tomorrow, or years in the future.
Are the features the same in the Windows and Mac OS versions?
Yes. Photoshop Lightroom 2 contains the same features and delivers the same professional, best-of-class results, no matter which platform you choose to use.
Does Photoshop Lightroom 2 run on Windows Vista?
Yes. Photoshop Lightroom 2 is designed to run on both Windows XP and Windows Vista®.

How to open a file in Photoshop

2008-12-12T04:58:00.000-08:00

You can open files using the Open command and Open Recent command in the File menu.. In Photoshop, you can also open files using Adobe Bridge.
Sometimes Photoshop may not be able to determine the correct format for a file. This can happen, for example, because the file has been transferred between two operating systems. Sometimes a transfer between Mac OS and Windows can cause the file format to be mislabeled. In such cases, you must specify the correct format in which to open the file.

Note: Photoshop and ImageReady use plug in modules to open and import many file formats. If a file format does not appear in the Open dialog box or in the File > Import submenu, you may need to install the format’s plug in module.
To open camera raw images in Photoshop
You can open one or more camera raw image files directly in Photoshop without opening the Camera Raw dialog box. Photoshop apples either the default camera raw image settings or your adjusted settings.
In Bridge, do one of the following:
Select one or more camera raw image files, hold down the Shift key, and choose

File > Open.
Hold down the Shift key and double-click a camera raw image file.

How to use Adobe Bridge

2008-12-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

If you have Adobe Photoshop installed, you can open and edit camera raw files from Bridge and save them in a Photoshop-compatible format. You can edit the image settings directly in the Camera Raw dialog box without starting Photoshop. If you don’t have Photoshop installed, you can still preview the camera raw files in Bridge
To start and quit Bridge, and to return to an application
Do any of the following:
To open Bridge from an application, choose File > Browse from your application.
(Windows) To open Bridge directly, choose Adobe Bridge from the Start menu.
(Mac OS) To open Bridge directly, double-click the Adobe Bridge icon . By default, this is located in the Applications/Adobe Bridge folder.
To quit Bridge, choose File > Exit (Windows) or Bridge > Quit Bridge (Mac OS).
To return to the last open application that started Bridge, choose File > Return To [Application].

How To view file and folder thumbnails in Bridge?
The content area of Bridge displays thumbnails of the files and folders of the selected folder, along with information about them (depending on your view).
You can specify how you want files and folders are displayed in the content area; for instance, you can decide how big thumbnails should be, how they should appear, and whether file information should be displayed.
Do any of the following:
Drag the Thumbnail slider at the bottom of the Bridge window to adjust the size of thumbnails. You can also click the buttons at either side of the Thumbnail slider to minimize or maximize the thumbnails.
Click the Thumbnail View button at the bottom of the Bridge window or choose View > As Thumbnails to display items in a grid.
Click the Filmstrip View button or choose View > As Filmstrip to display thumbnails in a scrolling list along with an extra-large thumbnail of the currently selected item. Click the Back button or Forward button directly below the extra-large thumbnail to go to the previous or next thumbnail. Click the Switch Filmstrip Orientation button to change from a horizontal slide show to a vertical one. Note that you can page through a PDF preview in Filmstrip view.
Click the Details View button or choose View > As Details to display a scrollable list of thumbnails along with information about the selected file, such as its creation date, file type, pixel size, and file size. For Version Cue files, there is additional information about the number of versions or alternates as well as enhanced status information along with the current version comment.
Click the Versions And Alternates View button or choose View > As Versions And Alternates to display a scrollable list of thumbnails along with thumbnails of any Version Cue alternates and versions for each item. (Only the current file appears unless you have created an alternates group containing the file or created previous versions of the file.) Click Alternates View or Versions View at the top right of the content area to display thumbnails of alternates or versions. In Alternates View, you can also create alternates groups containing files that are not in the current folder.
Choose View > Show Thumbnail Only to view thumbnails without any text information listed. However, Version Cue tool tips still display Version Cue information when you position the pointer over the thumbnail.
Choose View > Slideshow to view thumbnails as a slide show that takes over the entire screen. This is a quick and easy way to display and work with large versions of all the graphics files in a folder. Instructions on how to use the slide show are displayed on the screen when you choose this command.
Depending on the view you’re in, you can display extra file information by positioning the pointer over a thumbnail in the content area. For files in Version Cue projects, you can also choose File > Versions or File Alternate. This command opens a dialog box that lets you work with the file’s versions or alternates without having to select that view in the Bridge content area.

Photoshop For Photographers

2008-12-09T05:43:00.000-08:00

In a traditional darkroom, you control images with choices of films, chemicals, papers and processes. In the digital equivalent of the darkroom, you do so with a computer system and a photo-editing program. Just as in a traditional darkroom, the quality of your digital tools has an impact on the quality of your images.
However, a digital darkroom isn't like a traditional darkroom. For one thing, the lights are on. For another there is no prep time, so you can work only as long as you want. Costs are also lower because you can experiment and try things without wasting time and materials. If you make any really serious mistakes, you can always use the undo command.
Digital images can be edited in a wide variety of ways using photo-editing software. In some cases an editing program is used to "improve" an image by eliminating or reducing its flaws. In other cases it is used to take an image to a new place, making it something it never was.
The term computer graphics refers particularly to images displayed on a video display screen or Monitor. A computer-graphics system basically consists of a computer to store and manipulate images, a display screen (Monitor), various input and output devices, and a graphics software package—i.e., a program that enables a computer to process graphic images by means of mathematical language. These programs enable the computer to draw, colour, shade, and manipulate the images.
Graphics software programs enable a user to draw, colour, shade, and manipulate an image on a display screen with commands input by a keyboard. A picture can be drawn or redrawn onto the screen with the use of a mouse, a pressure-sensitive tablet, or a light pen. Preexisting images on paper can be scanned into the computer through the use of scanners, digitizers, or digital cameras. Frames of images on videotape can also be entered into a computer; Manipulated image can be printed on paper or on photographic film.
Pictures are stored and processed in a computer’s by either of two methods: Raster graphics and Vector graphics. Raster-type graphics maintain an image as a matrix of independently controlled dots or Pixels (picture Elements), while vector graphics maintain it as a collection of points, lines, and arcs. Raster graphics are now the dominant computer graphics technology.

ADOBE’S PHOTOSHOP
Adobe Photoshop is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting and versatile image creation and manipulation applications available. For anyone who deals with images -- from print media designers who come up with those dazzling ads in magazines, to Web creators sculpting awesome sites with cutting-edge graphics, Studio owners who want to restore damaged Photographs of their customers-- Photoshop is the tool of choice.
Basic Concepts
Photoshop is an extremely versatile tool: you can use it to correct errors in photos, to add effects to images, or to build complex images from scratch. Welcome to the basic concept section of Photoshop! Now we shall learn something very basic about work area, tools, menus & environment of Photoshop. Those who are familiar with Photoshop can skip this page. But if you are beginner, you better try this section to feel comfortable for further tutorials.
Adobe Photoshop Basics Outline
Before going for tutorials it is advisable to get familiar with the way Photoshop works. Photoshop is a raster program and an image processing package. This package deals lot with colors and selections. You must be well aware with the desktop of the package and the menus provided. Some Menus will come up with submenus and they provide more advance commands which requires proper practice to master. The tools and the potential of each tool of Photoshop have to be understood. After this get familiar with different types of Palettes, this explores endless way to creativity.
Desktop
It is essential to know about the environment we are working with when we study any package. When you open Photoshop 6.0 you we see some change if you are familiar with Photoshop 5.5. The work area is different. This is the tour of Photoshop 6.0 work area.Unless specified otherwise, Following lessons are applicable to Photoshop Version 5.0 and higher. When information in a lesson does not apply to all of these versions, notes will be provided for each version where applicable.
Navigating the Workspace of Photoshop
Let's get started by exploring the basic elements of the Photoshop workspace. There are four main counterparts to the Photoshop workspace

The Menu Bar
The Tools Option Bar
The Status Bar

The Toolbox
the Pallete
At the left side of your desktop you will find Toolbox. All the amazing tools you will be using throughout these tutorials are situated here.

Menu Bar

The top part is a menu bar where you will find general menus like File, Edit, Image, Layer, Select, Filter, View, Window and Help.

Tool Option Bar
Below menu bar, the newly introduced Tool Option Bar is placed. This When you are using any tool, the options related with that tool will be displayed on Tool Option Bar and can be directly accessed from there.
Palettes

Towards extreme right, you will find rectangular boxes called palettes. It can be dragged out from original box. Palettes have wide range from Navigator to Layers and Channels.
Status Bar
At the bottom of the desktop, like any package Photoshop also has status bar.

Menu Bar:

Menus With the revolution of graphic user interface every package is well equipped with menus so we don't have to remember the commands. There are some standard menus you will find in all the packages, like File, Edit etc. Some common sub menus are Cut, Copy, Paste selects all etc. Photoshop is an image-processing package hence it comes with its own menus used for image processing. We are giving brief description of the main menus used in photoshop.
File

You will find this menu in almost all the package. This consists of commands related with the general working of the package. In photoshop it consists of New, Open, Save, Save as, Place, Print, exit etc.

Edit
This is another standard menu of any software generally contains commands related with Cut, Copy, Paste, Clear. Photoshop provides more specific commands like Fill, Stroke, Color Settings, Preferences etc. along with general commands.
Image
Layers are photoshop specialty .You can use up to 100 layers depending upon the memory of your computer & size of your imageThis menu can be called as a backbone of photoshop if you consider it only image processing package. Most of the advance commands are situated here. The ground level tasks like changing mode, resolutions can be done through image menu.

Layers

Photoshop specialties! This easy to use feature made photoshop a very powerful image processing tool. Layers can be considered as transparent sheet on which we can process different parts of image. Layers can be edited separately and can be merged at the end.

Select

As we have already stated, selection is very important in any raster programs, select menu provides different ways of selections. Interestingly you can even save the selection for later use using save selection command. The range of the selection can be change with this menu.

Filter
Most interesting part for the photographers is Filter menu of Photoshop. They can Produce oil colour ,Soft Focus or Solarisation effect .As you proceed further this part becomes more serious. Most of the effects are carried out in the photoshop using standard filters provided by the package. You can use third party filters also.
View

This menu is used for easy and more efficient working. Different views help you to have better idea of your artwork. Besides, view menu provides some toggles between rulers, grids etc.
Windows
Mostly used for toggle purpose. I.e. for on and off of palettes, status bar etc.
Help
Provides you help features of Photoshop. In addition to the menu bar, Photoshop often has context sensitive menus for accessing some of the most likely commands depending on which tool is selected and where you click. You access the context sensitive menu by right clicking in Windows, or pressing the Control key on a Macintosh.
The Status Bar
Let's continue our exploration of the Photoshop workspace. There are four main counterparts to the Photoshop workspace: the Menu bar, the Status bar, the Toolbox, and the Palettes. We looked at the menu bars in the first section. In this lesson we’ll be learning about the status bar.
The Status Bar
Now take a look at the status bar along the bottom edge of the Photoshop workspace. The status bar is often taken for granted or overlooked entirely, but it can be a valuable tool, which shows document size, brief description about the tool you are using and view in percentage of the image. You’ll need an open document before the status bar will display any information.
Next in the status bar, you can see useful information about the tool you have selected. If you still have the zoom tool selected, your status bar should say "Zoom In" if you are outside of the document area. Move the cursor into the document area and you will see the status bar display instructions for using that tool.
The Toolbox
Let's continue our exploration of the Photoshop workspace. There are four main counterparts to the Photoshop workspace: the menu bar, the status bar, the toolbox, and the palettes. We've already covered the menu bar and the status bar. In this lesson we'll be learning about the toolbox. Since this is a general overview of the toolbox, the materials here are useful for any version of Photoshop.

When you look at the toolbox, notice how some of the buttons have a tiny arrow in the lower right corner. This arrow indicates that other tools are hidden under that tool. To access the other tools, click and hold down on a button and the other tools will pop out. Try this now by clicking on the rectangle marquee tool and changing to the elliptical marquee tool. The hidden marquee tools are shown here.
Now hold your cursor over one of the buttons and you should see a tool tip appear that tells you the name of the tool and its keyboard shortcut. All the marquee tools have a shortcut of M.

Photoshop Toolbar

Selection Tools
When you work with any raster based package, selection is always important factor as it is generally based on pixels. In vector programs we have the habit of click and select hence shifting from vector to raster makes little uneasy in the beginning for many beginners when it comes to selection. But with some practice it becomes not only easy but a very interesting activity. Selection Tools always work with closed border.
Powerful & user-friendly selection tools evaluate any Photo editing programme.

Rectangular Marquee Tool (M)
This is the first tool available in Photoshop for rectangular selection. Just drag it over the image and the rectangular part of the image will get marked with dotted line. This part is considered as Selected.

Elliptical Marquee Tool (M)
This is similar to previous tool. It selects elliptical area.

Lasso Tool (L)
This is different type of selection which enables you to draw freehand border around the area of the image you desire and select it.

Polygonal Lasso Tool (L)
Similar to Lasso but it is straight edged tool. I.e. You get straight line border as selection between two clicks.

Magnetic Lasso Tool (L)
One more interesting feature of Photoshop. It snaps the strong edged of the image and create the border. If you are using contrast colors in the image, this selection is always advisable.

Magic Wand Tool (W)
It's a pixel based selection. You don't have to trace the outline of the image like Lasso or Marquee tools. Magic Wand lets you to select the area of similar color. Clicking on the Add To Selection icon allows you to make more than one selection (see above). To remove part of your selection click on the Subtract From Selection icon and using the lasso to draw the part you want to subtract from the selection.
Tip Use the zoom tool to magnify your image while you are making your selections. You may find it much easier to work this way.
Choosing Feather will soften the edges of the selection of the lasso tools. The value of the feather will depend on your image size but generally 2-3 pixels will be sufficient.

Move Tool (V)
It is used to move the selections basically. It is also used to move guides and Layers. If you select some object or the part of the image it can be moved only with the move tool. If you use just the same selection tool then only selection border will move.

Crop Tool (C)
Want to trim the part of the image? Want to remove undesired part? Here is a tool. Crop tool actually trims the desired part of the image.

Airbrush Tool (J)
Start painting! Air brush let you paint the image with soft edges. The type of brushes can be changed.

Paintbrush Tool (B)

It is similar to paint bush strokes. Again the brush type can be changed.

Pencil Tool (B)

It has the hard edge like pencil. It simply works like pencil.

Clone Stamp Tool (S)

Need to make duplicates? Replicas ? Want to add more fruits in the dish? Here is the tool. It exactly copies image or the desired part of image in the file.

Pattern Stamp Tool (S)

It paints the area with the pattern.History Brush Tool (Y) Back to past! This amazing tool paints the copy of the selected state or the snapshot in the file.

Art History Brush (Y)
This also copies the selected state or the snapshot but it adds more flavors with stylized strokes.
Eraser Tool (E)
Remember School days with rubber eraser! It erases the pixels.
Background Eraser Tool (E)

This tool lets you to erase background and creates transparency.

Magic Eraser Tool (E)
This magical tool erases similar pixels to transparency.
Gradient Tool (G)
Creates color blends of different types. Even rainbow!Paint Bucket Tool (G)Fills the color in the area containing similar color pixels.

Blur Tool (R)

As a name indicates, it blurs, hard edges in the image.

Sharpen Tool (R)

As a name indicates, it sharpens, soft edges in the image.

Smudge Tool (R)

Have you ever dragged your fingers through wet paint and made mess? As a name indicates, it smudges.

Dodge Tool (O)

It’s too dark! Make it light with this tool.

Burn Tool (O)

Its too light! Make it dark with this tool.

Sponge Tool (O)

Would you like to change color saturation? Here is the tool.

Type Tool (T)

Without text you won't be happy! Type the text over an image with type tool.

Pen Tool (P)

Draw path with pen tool.

Eyedropper Tool (I)
If you want to use the color from image itself use eyedropper to pick the color from image. In practical use the colour sampler can be used to sample a colour and then that colour used for the repair.
Hand Tool (H)

Moves the image as if you are moving it by your own hand within its window.

Zoom Tool (Z)

Want to check magnified view? Want to reduce the view? Use zoom tool.

Moving down in the toolbox, we come to the color swatches. This is where the foreground and background colors are displayed. The tiny arrow to the top right allows you to swap foreground and background colors. The tiny black and white swatch symbol to the lower left allows you to reset the colors to the default of black foreground and white background. Hold your cursor over those two areas to learn the keyboard shortcuts. To change a color, simply click on either the foreground or background color swatch and select a new color in the color picker. Experiment by changing the foreground and background colors and then resetting them back to defaults.
The next two buttons on the toolbox allow you to toggle between quick mask and selection mode. We'll learn more about this later in future lessons.
Below that you have a set of three buttons that allow you to change the appearance of the workspace. Hold your cursor over each button to see what it does. Notice the keyboard shortcut for all three is F. Hitting F repeatedly toggles between all three modes. Try it now.
Palettes
These are small rectangular power packed boxes initially situated at the right side on the desktop of Photoshop. You can decide, control and create many parameters with the help of palettes. The hide and show pallets can be found in window menu. In this section we are giving brief information of the palettes.
Layers

Here you will create layers. The transparent sheets which are used to edit different parts of the image. You can even use layers to make the changes in the image without affecting the original image. Layer palette comes up with many useful options e.g. Create, copy, delete layer. You can merge the layers as well. Layer mode is another feature to trigger your creativity. Besides this there are some advance options like group with previous etc. Layers give you the freedom to work the way you want.
Channels
They Store color information. Channels can be used to create complicated selections using quick mask mode. That's the way alpha channel works! Different type of effects can be achieved through channels.
Path

Basically used for drawing. The path can be converted into selections. You can also stroke path.
Action

This palette used to save the command and reuse then on the image to automate the task.

History

This acts as famous undo. You can go back to past and start again from the step you want.

Palette

used to edit the text you place in the file.ParagraphIt is used to format paragraph.
Color

Work with colors. Use different color models. This is used to create desired color. The palette provides color bar which can be used to select foreground as well as background colors.

Styles

This is used to apply layer style on the object. You can use predefined style or you can create your own style.
Swatches

It is used to select the color. You can make your own library by adding different colors.

Navigator

This palette is used to navigate the views of the image in photoshop. With the help of slider you can change the view the image.
Info

As a name indicates it displays the information. Suppose you move the pointer over an image it will provide you information about colors. The display of the information changes according to different tools.

FIP Convention 2008

2008-12-03T01:34:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,
I am going to FIP Convention 2008 as Faculty of advance Digital Photography , so this blog will not be updated till 08.12.2008. Sorry. I am giving below the detailes of FIP Convention you can meet me their.........................Rajendra

24th. FIP Convention 2008

(Dedicated to KR Sukhdeo Singh)

5th to 8th December, 2008 at Lucknow

Host: Lucknow Camera Club

For attending it contact:

Mr Anil Risal Singh

Mob-09415464566

e mail: alilrisal@gmail.com

SETTING UP YOUR OWN DIGITAL DARKROOM

2008-11-29T17:58:00.000-08:00

Since all post editing in film-photography is done in the darkroom, the post editing of digital photographs (on PC) is also called the digital darkroom. The concept of a "digital darkroom" is a very hot idea in photography today. However, a digital darkroom isn't like a traditional darkroom for one thing, the lights are on. The appeal is also justified. Like Traditional photographers and their traditional darkrooms, today's digital photographer has the same desire to create, control, and manipulate their own prints. As the quality of inkjet prints now rivals that of traditional prints, it has now become possible for photographers to set up a high quality digital darkroom at home.
Setting up a home digital darkroom doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. It does involve a number of decisions and careful planning.In a traditional darkroom, you control images with choices of films, chemicals, papers and processes. In the digital equivalent of the darkroom, you do so with a computer system and a photo-editing program. Today's personal computers are capable of bringing digital imaging to the general public. However, it’s not just for creating and storing photos anymore, but also for editing images. In fact, in your computer you can build a darkroom with every function of a standard chemical darkroom. The advantage? A digital darkroom is easier to use, safer and offers faster results than its chemical counterpart
In past owning a 35mm camera didn't imply that you had a darkroom in the basement. Only serious amateurs photographer who dared to play with the toxic chemicals, noxious smells, and complicated procedures that needed to develop and edit one's own photos have their own darkroom. These days, though, most digital photographers do their own editing and printing--it's easy and fun. But what tools do you need to really make a go of digital photo editing and printing? That's what we're here to find out?
Assembling your own digital darkroom isn't complicated or expensive. You can tailor the equipment to your specific applications and budget. You can spend less or more, it all depends on what you're trying to accomplish, and the size of your budget. How? There are numerous configurations and setups possible. This article serves as a simple guide and tool for designing and building your own digital darkroom.
Choose Your Computer
The computer is the heart of the digital darkroom. The good news is that unless you're planning to output prints significantly larger than 8x10, chances are your existing computer will be good enough. In fact, unless you've got money to burn, it's best to work on your existing computer.However, if you're thinking of building a darkroom setup from scratch, there are a number of decisions to be made. PC or Mac
The fact is that either system is fully capable of delivering excellent output. So, unless you've got a valid reason to choose one platform over another, stick to the operating system you are most comfortable working in. Some points may be considered such as the Color management is far more stable and mature on the Mac platform. If excellent color management is a must you cannot go wrong with the Mac. However, note that true color management requires additional hardware and software that isn't cheap. PCs are cheaper and the supply and range of peripherals and software is considerably greater today.
Hardware Specifications
Once you've decided on which O/S you want to use, you'll have to decide what specifications you want for your CPU. There are a number of key areas to consider:
Processor
Faster is better, but you don't have to lose your mind about it. Processor power is usually measured in terms of MHz. Adobe's Photoshop requires only a Pentium or faster Intel Processor for the Windows version, and any PowerPC-based Macintosh for the Mac OS version. I'm running the Photoshop 7.0 on a 500MHz Cyrix-powered Pc, with no ill effects. Would I like more power? Yes, but the temptation has no end. So buy the fastest processor you can afford.
Memory
RAM is the amount of memory that your computer holds on and juggles while doing its Computation. You can never have too much RAM, so get as much as you can afford. Even for the least expensive system, I urge you to get a minimum of 128MB of RAM, preferably 256MB. Photoshop requires only 32MB of RAM to work but more the RAM faster the work. If you're hesitant about buying a new computer, adding RAM is a good way of making up for slightly slower processors like Pentium II, III or older-type PowerMacs.
Hard drive
The 15 GB hard disks included with my old systems is more than adequate to accommodate a digital darkroom, but more space is always useful. Today 40/80gb hard disks are common. For still photography, you can stick to the more standard hard drive interfaces-ATAPI. Forget about SCSI, you won't really need it. It's also easy to add another drive to your old machine, if you need to beef it up.
THE MONITOR
Go for Larger displays from recognized manufacturers because that will give you better results. A larger display allow you to better see on the screen what you'll get in a printout. They also support a wider range of resolutions.
Dot Pitch
All CRT displays use an electron beam that scans the screen which is covered with dots of colored phosphor. Between the electron gun and the screen is a mask that allows the sweeping beam to strike the screen only in selected areas (pixels). There are two kinds of masks; shadow masks and slot masks.
A shadow mask is a screen drilled with holes. The closer these holes are together in this screen, the higher the screen's resolution.
A slot mask (or aperture grill), like those in Sony Trinitron tubes, uses slots cut in the plate instead of round holes.
The spacing between the center of one dot or slot of the same color is called the dot pitch and is given in millimeters. The closer these are together, the better the screen's display (all other things being equal). The images are crisper and edges and lines look smoother. To compare monitors with the different types of masks, you need to know that the numbers are not equivalent. For example, a monitor using a shadow mask and having a dot pitch of .27mm is about the same as a .25 mm dot pitch on a monitor using a slot mask. You can determine a monitor's maximum resolution by dividing its width by its dot pitch. For example, a 14", .28mm dot pitch monitor measuring 300mm across could clearly display 1071 dots.
Dot pitch isn't a reliable measure of monitor quality because it's often distorted by different measurement techniques. Some monitors, such as the Sony Trinitron, use stripes instead of dots so there is no comparable measurement.
Resolution
On any given monitor, changing screen resolutions changes the size of displayed objects such as icons, text, buttons, and images. As the resolution increases, object sizes decrease but they do appear sharper. Take a look here at the same image displayed at three different resolutions: 640 x 480, 600 x 800, and 1024 x 768.
Because higher resolutions make things smaller on the screen, not all screen resolutions on a given sized screen make for comfortable viewing. For example, a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 on a 14" monitor makes text too small to be easily read. On the other hand, using a resolution of 640 x 480 on a 21" monitor makes things unreasonably large for hose with normal vision (but like a large-print edition for folks with vision problems).
White Point
Light sources have different color temperatures. When you set up your monitor, you can adjust its "white point" which is another name for its color temperature. The monitor's white point has a big effect on how the image looks on the screen. It's best to match it to the way you'll finally output the image so you can preview the end results better. If your images will be displayed on a monitor set it to 9300K, and if they are to be displayed on a TV set it to 6500. If they are to be printed, set it to 5000.
Source Color
Temperature
Computer monitor -9300K (adjustable)
Average daylight -6500K
Television monitor -6500K
Cool white fluorescent -4300K
Tungsten lamp -2800K
Sunlight at sunset -2000K
Gamma Correction
The image sensor in a digital camera is a linear device—the output signal is directly proportional to the scene illumination and exposure—doubling the exposure doubles the output signal. However, the phosphors that are used to make display monitors are non-linear. Typically, the phosphors have less gain for dark signals and more gain for bright signals. As the input voltage is increased, the screen brightness doesn't change smoothly because it's affected by electrostatic effects in the electron gun. This means that if you input a linear signal, the display on the screen is nonlinear and images tend to be darker with detail lost in the shadow areas.To compensate for this, the monitor adjusts the input signal to boost the dark areas and reduce the light ones. This ensures that combination of camera and monitor working together produce a linear effect. This process of adjusting the incoming signal is called Gamma correction. The term Gamma comes from the fact that the screen's brightness is proportional to the input voltage raised to the power 2.5, or gamma.
To make the displayed image better match the original image, the input signal can be adjusted to distort the signal in the opposite direction from the distortions of the CRT. For example, if the original image has a middle gray tone, the correction lightens it. When it's then displayed on the screen, the CRT darkens it again, bringing it back to middle gray. This adjustment is called gamma correction. Gamma correction controls the overall brightness of an image and images that haven't been properly corrected will look too light or too dark. Varying gamma also affects colors by changing the ratios of red, green, and blue. For this reason, you need to correct it to accurately reproduce colors.
Most monitors have a gamma of about 2.5. In the art below you'll see that a CRT with a gamma of 2.5 has a response like the one shown in the top two charts. In the bottom three charts you see what happens to the output signal when the input signal is first corrected.
Although gamma correction sounds technical, it's important if you want images displayed accurately on your screen or if you want to post images on the Web and have them displayed correctly on other people's screens.
Video Card
This is really for the PC users. You don't really need much; it should have just enough power to display 32bit colors (the limit on PCs) at the optimum resolution for the size of your monitor. In general 32MB of video memory is enough for still digital photography. You must have more video RAM if you're going to use a larger monitor that can utilize higher resolutions.
SCANNER
A scanner will allow you to bring Prints, slides or negatives, either color or B&W into your computer in a matter of minutes. Scanners come in many price ranges. The math when considering resolution of a scanner is easy. If the scanner is capable of 2700ppi then a 10" print will have a resolution of 270ppi. This is sufficient for output that rivals traditional photographic media. 300ppi also happens to be the required resolution for digital light printers. Beware of Optical Vs. Interpolated resolution in scanner specs. The only number that counts is true optical resolution. Each scanner has its own control software that plays an important part in both the quality of scans and ease of use. Scanning software not only provides an interface between the scanner and the computer, it also provides the user with the ability to adjust a wide range of parameters before the image ends-up ready for final processing. Choosing a scanner therefore involves evaluating its bundled software as well as hardware capabilities. The most important features of a negative scanner are bit depth, speed and dynamic range.
Bit depth refers to how a pixel is assigned a color. Some scanners record in 24 bits, or 8 bits per primary color. The greater the bit depth, the more flexibility there will be in editing and reproducing quality photographs.
Speed refers to how long it takes the scanner to scan the negative. If speed is important to you, use the specs as a rough guide, but don't rely on the accuracy of the numbers, because there is no set standard for measuring scan time.
Dynamic Range is a measurement from the least to the greatest. In this case, white is zero and black is four. A dynamic range of 4.0 would mean that the scanner is capable of reading the entire color scale accurately. Most scanners are rated somewhere between 3.0 and 3.6.
CD-R/RW Burners - Yes, you're going to need them. Suppose you have a few years' worth of digital pictures stored on your PC--what happens if its drive fails? Your digital darkroom should have a reliable backup system in place. The least expensive solution is to periodically copy your digital photos to a CD-R using the CD-RW drive. CD-R/RW technology is so mature and affordable that there's really no reason not to have one. These also come in handy when you need to transport image data to service bureaus or wish to send them to loved ones.
Optical Mouse - You're going to need a very good mouse for working in your image manipulation software. I really recommend going optical. They work well, are very precise, I highly recommend.
Ergonomics
One very important issue often ignored in many Digital darkrooms is ergonomics. We aren't accustomed to sitting in front of a computer for long hours. Therefore, it makes sense to be comfortable in order to be more productive. There are several things you must consider when setting up your workstations.
Your monitor should be at or below eye level. Your wrists should be straight with your forearms supported and parallel to the floor. Your thighs should also be parallel to the floor with your feet on the floor or a foot rest.
The proper height for a computer work surface is about 3 or 4 inches lower than the average writing desk. You should adjust your back support of your chair so that the seat back s curve is in curve of the lower back. Your monitor should be directly in front of you. The monitor height should be adjusted so that the top row of characters on the screen is at or slightly below eye height. The monitor should be about at arm's length away from your eyes. Also, keep in mind that good soft lighting is essential,the wall colour of your darkroom should be grey and soft background music can improve your working environment.
Try getting you feet wet and seeing for yourself what the fuss is all about. If you already have a computer why not start experimenting yourself. There are several modestly priced programs available for digital editing, some software are free for trial use and these will allow you to explore this exciting new side of "darkroom" practice. Have fun and don’t be afraid of change.

Adobe Photoshop Cs4 new features

2008-11-28T05:52:00.000-08:00

Adobe CS4 New features
Adobe has released CS4 in September 2008. Let us preview some of its cool new features. CS4 now supports 64 bit.
Revolutionary 3D painting and compositing
Now paint directly on 3D models, wrap 2D images around 3D shapes, convert gradient maps to 3D objects, add depth to layers and text, get print-quality output with the new ray-tracing rendering engine, and enjoy exporting to supported common 3D formats.It also supports 3D Lenticular Imaging. Lenticular printing is a technology in which a lenticular lens is used to produce images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles. Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended now supports the creation, and printing, of 3D lenticular images. However, it will currently only support 3D effects and not flip animation.
Adjustments panel
CS4 Simplify image adjustment by easily accessing every tool you need to nondestructively adjust and enhance the color and tone of your images; on-image controls and a wide variety of presets are also included in the new live and dynamic Adjustments panel
Masks panel
Quickly create and edit masks from the new Masks panel. This panel offers all the tools you need to create editable pixel- and vector-based masks, adjust mask density and feathering, easily select noncontiguous objects, and more.
Fluid canvas rotation
Now just click to smoothly turn your canvas for distortion-free viewing at any desired angle — no more tilting your head in the middle of painting and drawing.
Smoother panning and zooming
Gracefully navigate to any area of an image with new, ultra-smooth zooming and panning. Maintain clarity as you zoom to individual pixels and easily edit at the highest magnification with the new Pixel Grid
Extended depth of field
Easily create a single image from a series of shots that have different focal points with the enhanced Auto-Blend Layers command, which smoothly blends color and shading and now extends your depth of field, automatically correcting vignettes and lens distortion.
Auto-alignment of layers
Create accurate composites with the enhanced Auto-Align Layers command. Move, rotate, or warp layers to align them more accurately than ever before. Or use spherical alignment to create breathtaking panoramas.This feature was already in CS but it has been enhanced in CS4.

Workshop by IIPC

2008-11-27T19:43:00.000-08:00

26th Annual
International Workshop & Conference
DEDICATED TO YOUSUF KRASH

December 26th -29th 2008
Organized By:
INDIA INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COUNCIL
In Collaboration with
DEPARTMENT OF PHOTOGRAPHY, UNIVERSITY OF ALLAHABAD
WORKSHOPS ON:
PORTRAITURE, FASHION, PRODUCT & TABLE TOP , DIGITAL, VIDEO, OUTDOOR FASHION AT SANGAM AND PHOTOJOURNALISM

For queries contact:
Mr B. B. Singh -09415235281
Workshop coordinator
Email: himanshu640@gmail.com

Photoshop For Photographers

2008-11-27T19:04:00.000-08:00

It seems as though the whole world is going digital. In music world Black Vinyl LP was first replaced by cassettes and then CD/DVD has completely replaced them. Digital TV are already in market and several channels are already broadcasting in digital format. And now you see that photography has also become Digital. It is clear that future technology is digital so if you do not want to be left behind you will have to convert from conventional to digital. According to PSA journal today 60% prize winning photographs in annual competition are digital, which shows how quickly digital photography is rep[lacing the conventional photography.
Due to decrease in price of digital cameras and rapid expansion in popularity a lot of traditional camera users are making a direct leap to digital image processing. For many people darkroom work has its unpleasant aspects, including the isolation and the chemical fumes and dermatological effects. There is a good news for them that they can now also enjoy the pleasures of PC based darkroom, working in a well light, well ventilated space closer to the rest of the family.
A freshly scanned/downloaded image from a scanner or camera is referred to as being raw, even though one might have exercised some control over it during the scanning/shooting process. These include adjusting contrast and brightness, color balance or tonality, sharpening, and cleaning up any dust spots or other unwanted artifacts. The rest processing work is done in a digital darkroom.
In image processing software, all of the controls of the traditional darkroom - brightness, contrast, color balance, burning and dodging are available, but with infinitely more control and ease than you’ve ever had or imagined. One of the most important advantages of working in the digital realm is that adjustments are made with real-time feedback, changes that you make, are instantly displayed on-screen, and are closely akin to what you’ll see on the final print. Most importantly, once made these changes are saved to disk as part of the final image and therefore making subsequent prints is a snap. Depending on the size of image image processing takes anywhere from a few minutes to several hours
Which program is best to accomplish these tasks? For most serious workers the first choice is Adobe Photoshop. This is virtually the de facto standard for image processing software on both PCs and Macs. While it’s expensive, it is without peer in terms of versatility and power.
When photographers switch from the traditional chemical darkroom to PC-based desktop image processing the hardest part of the learning curve is learning Photoshop. This program is one of the most sophisticated pieces of software ever designed and now with 17 years+ of revisions and enhancements presents a daunting challenge to the newcomer
There are numerous third-party books on Photoshop but most are filled with unnecessary and confusing information aimed at non-photographers. Several of the books designed specifically for photographers go into so much depth that figuring out where to begin can be an intimidating at best.
This article is designed with you in mind. You want to take your scanned (or digital camera generated) images and be able to produce high quality prints You want to use all of the quality-enhancing tricks that you know are available to pros and people who¹ve spent years studying Photoshop, but you don't want to waste time getting started.
If you are one of those,You've come to the right place. The following articles details in a step-by-step manner how to take your raw scan or digital file and produce the highest quality print. While some explanations are provided of why certain actions are taken, the main thrust will be results rather than reasons.
RAW Files
If you are working with files from a digital camera they should preferably be in RAW mode. JPG files have been degraded by the camera and the application by the camera of White Balance and Sharpening has done the same (though to a lesser extent). Apply controls once only in Photoshop for best results.

HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE IMAGING HDRI

2008-11-26T05:30:00.000-08:00

What is High Dynamic Range?
Dynamic Range refers to the range of brightness levels that exists in a particular scene-from darkest-before complete and featureless black to, to lightest-before complete featureless white. A scene showing the interior of a room with a sunlit view outside the window , for instance, will have a dynamic range of approximately 100000:1. So it has a High Dynamic Range. Our eyes are a marvelous piece of instrument which can see both in highlights and shadows simultaneously even when the dynamic range is as high as 10000:1. But unfortunately the dynamic range which can be handled by a slide film, CCD or CMOS is only six f/spots from the brightest to darkest point, while colour negative and black and white film users always had a few more stops to play with so the dynamic range of a film/transparency, CCD or CMOS is called low dynamic range .
Contrary to popular opinion-what you see is not what you always get in a photograph. You may be able to see the details in those dark shadows and bright highlights when the sun is shining because our eyes have high dynamic range-but your, negative/Slide film /CCD or CMOS sensor can not because they have low dynamic range . If the dynamic range of the scene is outside the camera limits, the highlights and shadows will be reproduced without details.
How to capture High Dynamic Range faithfully on film/ slide /CMOS or CCD:
Rendering the scenes presenting very bright highlights and deed shadows is very problematic. The problem already exits with traditional solver halide photography and is more pronounced with slide films. In digital photography, the problem is even worse as the linear response of the sensors imposes an abrupt limit to the dynamic range , sonce the sensor maximum capacity is reached. If you capture details in the shadows by long exposure times, you then get blown-out highlights. Conversely, you can capture details with short exposure times , but you then lose contrast in the shadows.
If you have a SLR or compact camera, the judicious use of a graduated neutral density , split neutral density or polarizing filter or by combining the best bits of two different exposure in the computer much like the dodge & burn technique used by experienced darkroom users, you can achieve equally good result in high contrast scenes. Dynamic Range is one of the limitations that have not yielded much over the years to technology’s inexorable advances but now this problem has been tackled. The Merge to HDR from file/Automatic menu feature of Photoshop CS2 ,allows the photographer to combine a series of bracketed exposures (usually one normal exposure ,and then a few more at 1-2 stops over and under that point) into a single image which encompasses the tonal details of the entire series. High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) enable photographers to record a greater range of tonal detail than a given camera could capture in a single photo. This opens up a whole new set of lighting possibilities which one might have previously avoided-for purely technical reasons.
The use of high dynamic range imaging in computer graphics was pioneered by apul Devevec. Debebee is thought to be the first person to create computer graphic images using HDRI maps to realistically light and animate computer graphic objects. Gregory Ward created the Radiance RGBE image file format in 1985, which was the first and still is the most commonly used file format for HDR imaging today.
File Formats for HDR images:
HDR photographs are 32 bit images (i.e. 96 bit per pixel for a colour image) Unlike 8 /16 bit images which can take a finite no of values, 32 bit images are coded using floating point numbers, which means the point numbers, which means the value they can take is unlimited . There are various formats available to store HDR images , such as Radiance RGBE(hdr), and open EXR9exr) among the most coomonly used . Open EXR is a HDR file format developed by Industrial Light & Magic for use in computer imaging applications.
How to shoot images for HDR?
Most digital cameras are able to capture a limited dynamic range . This is why HDR images are commonly created from photos of the same scene taken under different exposure levels.
Here are some recommendations for taking different exposures for the HDR images.
Mount your camera on tripod.
Set your camera to manual exposure mode, select and appropriate aperture for your scene. (e.g.- f/8 or less if you need more depth of field) and the lowest ISO setting.
Measure the light in the brightest part of your scene(use spot metering and use Av mode and point camera toward highlights) and note the exposure time. Do the same for the darkest shadow of your scene.
Determine the number and value of exposures necessary. For this , take as a basis the exposure time measured for the highlights. Multiply this number by 4 to find the next exposure with a spot spacing of 2EVs are often sufficient to properly cover the dynamic range.
You cane make use of Auto Exposure Bracketing if your camera supports it and if it allows a sufficient exposure increment and number of auto- bracketed frames to cover the dynamic range determined in step-4 . Otherwise ,you will have to vary the exposure times manually.
What is Tone Mapping?
Tone mapping is the process of converting tonal values of an image from a high range to a lower one. For instance , an HDR image with a dynamic range of 100000/1 will be converted into an image with tonal values ranging from just 1 to 255.
You may wonder why someone would want to reduce the tonal range when an HDR image provides so many benefits compared to a low dynamic range. After all, HDR images contain a much higher level of detail and are closer to the range of human vision. The reason is simple: standard display devices whether it is LCD/CRT monitor or paper can only reproduce a range of about 100:1, and paper even less. So, the goal of tone mapping is to map the appearance of the images of higher dynamic range so that they can be reproduced on media such as prints of standard monitors.
When you merge several low dynamic range photographs you get file which is in 32 bit mode. It will have the extension. PBM (portable bit Map). In photoshop you are presented with 4 choices for reducing the dynamic range down to something that you can work with, as follows.
Exposure and Gamma lets you to manually adjust the brightness and contrast of the HDR images.
Highlight compression, compresses the highlight values in HDR images so they fall within the luminance values range of the 8 /16 bits per channel image file. No further adjustments are necessary’ this method is automatic. Click OK to convert the 32 bit per channel image .
Equalize histogram: Compresses the Dynamic Range of the HDR image while trying to preserve some contrast. No further adjustments are necessary; this method is automatic. Click Ok to convert the 32 bit per channel image.
Local Adaptation adjusts the tonality in the HDR image by calculating the amount of local brightness region through the image.
The most versatile and flexible choice among above method is Local Adaptation using the Toning Curve and Histogram.
Software available for creating HDR Images:
There are various software packages around to help you to create HDR photos . These include the following :
Adobe HDR-Supplied as standard with Photoshop CS2 upwards. You can find this option in the menu File>Automate>Merge to HDR.
HDR Shop- an interactive graphical user interface image processing and manipulation system designed to view an manipulate High-Dynamic Range images.
Photomatrix Pro- The Tone Mapping Tool is also available separately as a plug-in computable with Photoshop CS2. This software is more popular than photoshop for HDR imaging due to it’s easy and novel method of tone mapping. It has also tool for removing ghosting effect which comes due to moving objects in image.
Photo genenics HDR is from Indruna Software the first 32 bit per channel HDR paint package.
FDR Tools- a collection of tools supplied as free Basic Version and Advance Version which has also a trial option.
HDR proptograph from one RAW file:
Instead of taking many shots at different exposure there is also a quick rout for obtaining HDR image. Just shoot one Raw file and process it using any Raw converter to create a series of different exposures. For scenes in which there are moving subject this method is best, but the quality of photograph produced by using this method is not as good as shooting different exposures because noise is more apparent in shadow areas .One thing more, if the programme you are going to use to create HDR uses EXIf data you will need to remove this first ,otherwise any changes you make in the RAW processing will be ignored when the program reads the original exposure from EXIF data. When shooting in RAW mode you have to convert the file first. Make sure that the RAW converter setting are the same for each file and save as 16 bit Tiffs or PSDs.
Merging images which include moving objects:
Moving objects produce ghosting effect after merging but now this problem can be solved by using latest version of the software Photomatrix Pro . HDR Soft has released an updated version of Photomatrix Pro . The most notable upgrade is the incorporation of settings to reduce Ghosting artifacts in multiple –source HDR GENERATION . There are two types of Ghost removing settings : moving objects/people and periodic movements, such as rippling water. Both ghosting option can be set to “Normal” or High to attempt to fix moving elements in the combined HDR image.
When to use HDR Images:
I would suggest only using HDR images when the scene’s brightness distribution can no longer be easily blended using a graduated neutral density filter. His is because GND filters extend dynamic range while still maintaining local contrast while trying to broaden the tonal range with HDRI will inevitably comr at the expense of decreased contrast in some tones.

Conclusion:
Over the next decade, the imaging industry will inevitably transition to high dynamic range imaging, creating devices that provide a latitude range for greater than traditional silver halide film. This change will affect all aspect of image making. Today’s camera has an ample resolution. So the next area of product differentiation of camera manufacturers will be the quality of the pixels, rather than number of pixels. This shift has started to happen already. For example, Fuji’s Super CCD S3 Pro Camera has S chip with high and low sensitivity sensors per pixel location to increase dynamic range. For most consumers, HDR will simply mean that the camera records more details in shadows and in highlights. Just as RAW images extend the detail held in digital images, HDR will further increase the available tonal range.Consumers will benefit from the true point –and-shoot ability that broader latitude offers, because HDR cameras will produce usable images from a much wider range of lighting situations. With HDR technologies, photographers can really push the creative envelope, exploring the extremes of high-key and low-key effects. In future professional cameras will offer a multitude of HDR image taking modes. For example, they will automatically blend multiple images taken with the different exposures, with and without flash, possibly using multiple light sources, to produce a single master image. Over the past decade, display companies have steadily improved the dynamic range of LCD and DLP display. Few displays available today indicate where the market is going, new technology wil

Interview of Mr Gurdas Dua FIIPC, Hon APASP

2008-11-25T00:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,
For you I have Interviewed Mr Gurdas Dua, FIIPC,HPASP of Indore. I hope that you will learn a lot from his interview & photographs. A very gentle person by nature and always ready to help the newcomers. For any clarification or question you can contact him directly. His mobile no is-94250-32922 and - E-mail is: gurdasdua@gmail.com................enjoy-Rajendra

How did you get started?
Since childhood I had great fascination for Photography, but could not afford to buy a camera till 1988, when I purchased Minolta XG-1 with normal lens. With this camera I joined a local camera club and started learning Pictorial Photography. And I never knew the journey ahead would be so long and so exciting. What equipment you currently use and why.
Do you think expensive equipments are necessary for good photography?
At present I am using Nikon D200 with AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 G ED VR lens.
Expensive is a relative term. To some Nikon D 200 may look costly at the same time to some it may look cheap.
Necessity of expensive camera depends upon the application. If photography is only a hobby, a normal value 6 mega pixel camera is more than sufficient for you. But when photography is a profession, you will need to have high end camera like Nikon D3 or Nikon D700 with 18-200 2.8 lens or a medium or large format digital camera.
Which medium you prefer, B/W, Color Film or Color Transparency and why?
Few years back when I was working on analogue, I was using b/w film, color negative film, color positive (transparency) film as well as Polaroid and was working on all formats.
Small format- Canon T-90
Medium format – Mamiya
Large format- Sinar (With roll film, sheet film and Polaroid backs)
Depending upon the application and use of the image the medium and the format is selected.
You like conventional or Digital phototherapy why?
In present scenario Digital has gone way ahead analogue. Since so many years you may not have heard of any technological improvement or any innovation in film cameras or in any type of film. Whatever advancements and innovations are taking place are in digital only.
Those all camera, film and electronics manufactures who had nothing to do with digital e.g. Sinar, Lieca, Hasselblad, Fuji, Sony have now switched over to digital and every now and then trying to bring some thing new to end users.
So I feel this era has to be completely ruled by Digital Photo therapy.
Have you studied photography anywhere?
Since 1988 when I first picked up my camera and till today I am learning photography and I will be learning it till end of my life. But till now I have not done any formal training course from anywhere.
Can you name few photographers who influenced you or you find that you consciously or unconsciously copy his style?
I have always admired photographers like Ansel Adam, Wellington Lee, Yusuf Karsh and from our own land to name a few O.P. Sharma, C. Rajagopal, T. Kasinath.
Yes I wish to follow their style because they all are great masters, if I can copy just 10 % of their style it will be a great asset to me. But I think it is very difficult to copy any body’s style.
One should do his work with great understanding, enthusiasm, dedication and devotion so that one day his pictures should be recognized with his own style.
How would you rate Indian photographers with their International counterparts?
In current scenario of Photography as an art, many times I find Indian photographers are way ahead of the international photo artists. I think it is because Indian photo artists make images using traditional laws of pictorialism and use esthetics instead of modern trends which most of the international counterparts are now a days following.What are the most important points to consider when you are photographing anything?
1. Originality of the subject matter with a unique concept.
2. Choosing an interesting subject matter.
3. Composition, Background, Lighting.
4. Technique.
5. Presentation.
In this age of automatic cameras do you feel that basic knowledge of photography techniques is necessary for better photography?
What ever camera you use digital or analogue, manual or automatic you must have basic knowledge of photo techniques like relation between aperture and shutter speed, knowledge of depth of field as well as rules of composition and lighting etc.

Photography is your profession or only your hobby?
I started photography as hobby but later on somewhere in 1992 it turned into my profession when I started doing Industrial Photography for Department of Atomic Energy, Govt. of India.
At present I am mainly involved in Pictorial and Advertising Photography.
Pictorial Photography boosts my energy to carry on my profession well.
Which field of photography-Pictorial, Journalism, Nature, Fashion Still life or Advertising you like most and why?
From the core of my heart, I like Pictorial the most because I strongly feel that pictorial is mother of all branches of photography. And let me tell you frankly that whatever I have earned so far i.e. name, fame and money is only because of my practice in pictorial photography.
I also enjoy doing different branches like nature, wildlife, landscape, still life, portraiture, fashion, child, travel, advertising and industrial but always with pictorial approach.

In your view which is your best photograph and why?
It is really difficult to choose the best out of your own best works. It is just like choosing your own best finger out of five.
Every time out of my entire shoot, I select just one or two images, which I feel, are perfect in all regards. So I consider all my final images are my best images because they all are very close to my heart. I would not have made a print or a final image if they were not my best shots.
Besides photography what are your other hobbies ?.
Since last 30 years I am so much involved in photography, that now photography to me is my bread & butter, my entertainment, my duty and my religion. Whatever is related to photography like visiting different beautiful places, different cultures, meeting people and making friends are my other hobbies.

You have got prizes in many competition please let us know about few of them.
· Over 1000 Photographs Exhibited & over 150 Awarded so far in All India and International Exhibitions.
· Represented India in FIAP-KODAK International Photo Contest in 1993 at Belgium.
· Won Nikon International Photo Award '99 (Honorable Mention).
· Won 6th prize in the International AGFA net Photo Contest "Men At work"-2000.
· Won Highly Commended Award by Cannock Photography Society UK for Photograph “Pentomino Bugs Emerging”.
· Won Kodak Action Photographer of the year 2002 Award (Refer Oct. 2002 issue of Better Photography).
· Won Epson Color Imaging Award at Japan in 2004.
· Five times National Award Winner (National Contests organized by Govt. of India).
· Won Nominee Medal for Butterfly Art Foundation International Award.
· Had been member of Indian photographers delegation to Pakistan in March 2006.
Please tell us how and when you got your different honors.
· FIIPC : Fellow of India International Photographic Council, New Delhi, India. [2005]
· Hon. APASP : Hon. Associate of Photographer’s Art Society of Pakistan, Lahore. [2006]
· FBAF : Fellow of Butterfly Art Foundation, Trrisure, Karala, India. [2006]
· India International Photographic Council’s Platinum Grade Exhibitor. [2007]
· Federation of Indian Photography’s Three Star Exhibitor. [2002]
· Pakistan Salon Group of Photography’s Gold Star Exhibitor. [2006]
Have you written any book, discovered any process, then let us know about that?
I have written different articles on photography, few of them have been published in Better Photography and Smart Photography magazines.
· Creativity Through Available Light In Pictorial Photography –April 2000 issue of Better Photography.
· Pictorial lighting _ Basic Lighting issue of Best of Better Photography.
· Kaleidoscope- May 2006 issue of Smart Photography.
· Kaleidoscope- April 2007 issue of Smart Photography.
· Photograph titled ”Scavenger Vultures” published in Dec.-Jan. issue of National Wildlife Magazine, USA.
Tell us about future of photography in India.
In India weather in private, public or government sectors; I don’t think there is any home, office, industry, institution or any project, which does not need photography in their day-to-day operations. That is why all camera and photographic goods manufactures of the world see a great potential of their business in India. Today Photo goods market in India is of Rs.1,700 crores per annum and is increasing every year approximately by 11%. This is in white. Now you can think of the gray market.
So the future of photography in India is very very bright.
What you did or wish to do for budding photographers.
I have conducted many Photographic workshops for budding photographers. Few important ones are:
1998- CCI Indore- C-41 Processing
1999- Focus, Ahmedabad- Industrial, Pictorial, Product with E-6 & C-41 process live demo.
2001- PSJ Jabalpur- E-6 & C-41 Manual Processing.
2004- IIPC New Delhi- Pictorial & Portrait
IIPC Convention Indore- Digital.
2006VPA Vadodara- Pictorial & Studio Portrait
PSJ Jabalpur- Digital, Portrait & Photoshop
2007- Kala Color Lab, Banswara- Digital, Photoshop & Studio Portraits.
25th IIPC International workshop 2007, New Delhi.
2008- Indore Press club-Digital & Adobe Photoshop.
Jodhpur Photographic Society- Portrait, Digital & Photoshop.
Photographic Society of Sagar & Rotary- Digital & Photoshop.
Gopeshwar/ Chamoli (Uttranchal)- Basic Digital and Photoshop.
Is there anything in particular would you like to share with budding photographers?
The budding photographers should first have basic knowledge of camera and it’s working, digital, software like Photoshop and should understand & practice Pictorial Photography.
Without having primary and middle level education one should not jump directly to advanced photography.
There are no short cuts for success!

A Short Glossary of Digital Photography Terms-Part-1

2008-11-24T06:48:00.000-08:00

AA Filter - Most digital SLR cameras employ a Low Pass Filter (LPF) or Anti-Aliasing (AA) filter in front of the imager to help eliminate color aliasing (moire) problems.
Adapter- Used to insert a smaller storage device into a larger slot in a computer or other device.
A/D Converter - A device that converts analog information (a photograph or video frame) into a series of numbers that a computer can store and manipulate. All digicams use an A/D converter, the higher the bit rate the better the output. Modern hi-res digicams employ a 12-bit or 14-bit A/D to increase the dynamic range (range of light from highlight to shadow).
Add-On Lens - Some lenses have filter threads on the front edge that allow you to mount an auxiliary wide angle or telephoto lens in addition to the standard lens.
AE - Auto Exposure, a system for automatically setting the proper exposure according to the existing light conditions. There are three types of AE systems:
Programmed where the camera picks the best shutter speed and aperture automatically
Aperture Priority, the user chooses an aperture value and the shutter speed is automatically determined by lighting conditions
Shutter Priority, the user chooses a shutter speed and the aperture is automatically determined by lighting conditions
AE Lock - The ability to hold the current exposure settings and allow you to point the camera elsewhere before capturing the image. This is usually accomplished by half-pressing the shutter button and keeping it at that position until you're ready to capture the image. AF-Auto Focus. A system that automatically focuses the camera lens. Aliasing - An effect caused by sampling an image (or signal) at too low a rate. It makes rapid change (high texture) areas of an image appear as a slow change in the sample image.
Algorithm - A mathematical routine that solves a problem or equation. In imaging, the term is usually used to describe the set of routines that make up a compression or color management program to accurately reproduce the original image from the sampled image.
Anti-aliasing - The process of reducing stair-stepping by smoothing edges where individual pixels are visible.
Archive - A collection of data in long-term storage. Artifact(ing) - Misinterpreted information from a JPEG or compressed image. Color faults or line faults that visibly impact the image negatively. Aspect Ratio - The ratio of horizontal to vertical dimensions of an image. The most common aspect ratio in digicams is 4:3 so that images "fit" properly on computer screens (800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024). Some cameras offer a 3:2 mode so that you can print "perfect" 4x6" prints with no cropping necessary.(The Aspect Ratio of 35mm film is 3:2, TV sets are 4:3, HDTV screens are 16:9) Aspherical Lens - A lens whose edges have been flattened so that it is not a perfect sphere, produces a superior image. AVI - Movie clip in Windows' AVI format.
AWB - Automatic White Balance. A system for automatically setting the white balance in today's digital cameras. ".
ATA. -A standard for storage devices that lets them be treated as if they were hard drives on the system. Any ATA compatible media can be read by any ATA device.
Attachment- A file such as a photograph sent along with an e-mail message so it can be viewed or saved at the recipient’s end.
Banding - An artifact of color gradation in computer imaging, when graduated colors break into larger blocks of a single color, reducing the "smooth" look of a proper gradation. Bayer pattern- Patterns of red, greens, and blue filters on the image sensor’s photosites. There are twice as many green filters as the other colors because the human eye is more sensitive to green and therefore green color accuracy is more important.
Bit - The smallest unit of memory; a contraction from 'binary' and 'digit'. Binary digits are 0 and 1, also known as ons and offs. Bit Depth - This refers to the color or gray scale of an individual pixel. A pixel with 8 bits per color gives a 24 bit image. (8 Bits X 3 colors is 24 bits.) 24 bit color resolution is 16.7 million colors.
Bit-mapped. -Images formed from pixels with each pixel a shade of gray or color. Using 24-bit color, each pixel can be set to any one of 16 million colors.
Bleed - Printing term referring to an image or linked area that extends to the edge of the printed piece. Blooming - A visual effect caused by overexposing a CCD to too much light, This "digital overexposure" can cause distortions of the subject and/or color.

Blue Tooth - The new wireless standard for connecting cameras, PDAs, laptops, computers and cell phones. Uses very high frequency radio waves. Blue Tooth devices when in-range (less than 30 feet) of each other easily establish a connection. BMP - BitMapped graphic file format popular with Windows computers. This is an uncompressed file format like TIFF. Borderless - Means a photo print with no border around it. Old term for this was full-bleed printing. Brightness - The value of a pixel in an electronic image, representing its lightness value from black to white. Usually defined as brightness levels ranging in value from 0 (black) to 255 (white). Buffer - A temporary storage area usually held in RAM. The purpose of a buffer is to act as a temporary holding area for data that will allow the CPU to manipulate data before transferring it to a device.
Burst Mode - The ability to rapidly capture images as long as the shutter button is held down. Also called continuous frame capture. Byte – It is an ensemble of eight bits of memory in a computer.
Card- The sealed package containing storage chips or other devices with electrical connectors that make contact when inserted into a card slot on a camera, printer, computer, or other device.
Calibration - The act of adjusting the color of one device relative to another, such as a monitor to a printer, or a scanner to a film recorder. Or, it may be the process of adjusting the color of one device to some established standard. Card Reader - A device that you insert flash memory cards into to transfer the data to the computer. Much faster than the serial port! See also "PCMCIA" and "PC Card".
CCD Raw format. The uninterpolated data collected directly from the image sensor before processing. It may be called as digital negative.
Charge-coupled device (CCD). An image sensor that reads the charges built up on the sensor’s photosites a row at a time.
CD - CompactDisc - read only storage media capable of holding 650MB of digital data.
CDR - CompactDisc Recordable - a CD that you can write to once that can not be erased but can be read many times, holds 650~700MB of digital data.

CDRW - CompactDisc ReWriteable - the newest kind of CD-R that can be erased and re-used many times, holds about 450MB of data.
Center-Weighted - A term used to describe an auto exposure system that uses the center portion of the image to adjust the overall exposure value. See also "Spot Metering" and "Matrix metering" CF - see CompactFlash and check here: Flash Memory Cards/Readers Channel - One piece of information stored with an image. True color images, for instance, have three channels-red, green and blue. Chroma - The color of an image element (pixel). Chroma is made up of saturation + hue values, but separate from the luminance value. Chromatic Aberration - Also known as the "purple fringe effect." It is common in two Megapixel and higher resolution digital cameras (especially those with long telephoto zoom lenses) when a dark area is surrounded by a highlight. Along the edge between dark and light you will see a line or two of purple or violet colored pixels that shouldn't be there. CIFF - Camera Image File Format, an agreed method of digicam image storage used by many camera makers. CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor - Another imaging system used by digicams. It is not as popular as CCD but the future promises us even better digicams based on CMOS sensors due to the lower amount of power consumption versus the typical CCD device. CMS - Color Management System. A software program (or a software and hardware combination) designed to ensure color matching and calibration between video or computer monitors and any form of hard copy output. CMYK - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, blacK; These are the printer colors used to create color prints. Most color printers, Ink-Jet, Laser, Dye-Sublimation and Thermal printers use these as their printer colors. (This is one of the color management problems for computers. Converting RGB files to CMYK files cause's color shifts.) When used by a printer the CMYK is also known as a reflective color since it is printed on paper, or reflective films. Codec - Compresses information so that it can be sent across a network faster, and decompresses information received via the network. Color Balance - The accuracy with which the colors captured in the image match the original scene. Color Cast - An unwanted tint of one color in an image caused by a disproportionate amount of cyan, magenta, and yellow. This can occur due to input or output device. Color Copier - Color printing device using electrostatic and CMYK Pigments. Color Correction - The process of correcting or enhancing the color of an image. Color Depth - Digital images can approximate color realism, but how they do so is referred to as color depth, pixel-depth, or bit depth. Modern computer displays use 24-bit True Color. It's called this because it displays 16 million colors, about the same number as the human eye can discern. Color Space - Digital cameras use known color profiles to generate their images. The most common is sRGB or AdobeRGB and this information along with the camera and exposure data is stored in Exif header of the JPEG file. This color space information ensures that graphic programs and printers have a reference to the color profile the camera used at the time of exposure. CompactFlash - The most common type of digicam flash memory storage. It is removable, small and available in sizes from 4MB up to 1GB.
CF Type I the original 3.3mm high cardCF Type II cards and devices that are 5mm high.

Compression, lossless-. A file compression scheme that makes a file smaller without degrading the image.
Compression, lossy.- A file compression scheme that reduces the size of a file but degrades it in the process so it can’t be restored to its original quality.
Compression. The process of reducing the size of a file.
COM port - Your computer has serial communication ports, which support the RS-232 standard of communication. This is the most common interface used to transfer data from a digicam to the computer.
Continuous Autofocus - (Continuous-AF) The autofocus system is full-time and works even before the shutter release is pressed. Continuous Tone - An image where brightness appears consistent and uninterrupted. Each pixel in a continuous tone image file uses at least one byte each for its red, green, and blue values. This permits 256 density levels per color or more than 16 million mixture colors. Contrast - A measure of rate of change of brightness in an image. CR-V3 - This is a 3V lithium battery used in many Olympus brand (and other) digicams. It lasts much longer than alkaline but it is also more costly. CRW / CR2 - The raw CCD file format used by Canon digicams. Abbreviated from CanonRAW. Canon also has newer CR2 raw format as well.

A Short Glossary of Digital Photography Terms-PART-3

2008-11-24T04:46:00.000-08:00

Jaggies - Slang term for the stair-stepped appearance of a curved or angled line in digital imaging. The smaller the pixels, and the greater their number the less apparent the "jaggies". Also known as pixelization. JFIF - A specific type of the JPG file format. Also known as EXIF JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group - The name of the committee that designed the standard image compression algorithm. JPEG is designed for compressing either full-color or grey-scale digital images of "natural", real-world scenes. It does not work so well on non-realistic images, such as cartoons or line drawings. JPEG does not handle compression of black-and-white (1 bit-per-pixel) images or moving pictures. See "JPG" below.
JPEG2000 - The new JPEG compression standard that will be used in digital cameras and software starting in 2002 (maybe?). It will feature higher compression but with less image quality loss.
JPG - The most common type of compressed image file format used in digicams. It is a "lossy" type of storage because even in its highest quality mode there is compression used to minimize its size.
Landscape mode. Holding the camera in its normal orientation to hake a horizontally oriented photograph.
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display. Two types: (1) a TFT high-resolution color display device like a tiny TV set. (2) A monochrome (B&W) information display using black alphanumeric characters on a gray/green background.
LED - Light Emitting Diode. All those wonderful little red, green and yellow indicator lights used on cameras, power supplies and most electronic devices.
Li-ion - Some digicams are packaged with a lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack. Lithium batteries are lighter but more costly than NiMH or NiCd type of rechargeable cells. Lithium cells can be recharged regardless of their state of discharge, they're lighter in weight and maintain a charge better in colder temperatures. Li-ion also holds a charge longer when idle. Lossless - Storing the image in a non-compressed format, see TIFF.
Low Pass Filter - Most digital SLR cameras employ a Low Pass Filter (LPF) or Anti-Aliasing (AA) filter in front of the imager to help eliminate color aliasing (moire) problems.
Long-focal-length lens (telephoto lens). A lens that provides a narrow angle of view of a scene, including less of a scene than a lens of normal focal length and therefore magnifying objects in the image.
LZW. -A compression scheme used to reduce the size of image files.
Macro mode.- A lens mode that allows you to get very close to objects so they appear greatly enlarged in the picture.
mAh - A rating used in the consumption of power of an electronic device such as an LCD or the storage capability of a device like an NiMH or Nicad rechargeable battery (i.e. 1600mAh cell). It stands for milliAmperehour.
Matrix Metering. -An exposure system that breaks the scene up into a grid and evaluates each section to determine the exposure.
Megapixel - CCD resolution of one million pixels. Digicams are commonly rated by Megapixels. You multiply the horizontal resolution by the vertical resolution to get the total pixel count:
1280 x 960 pixels = 1 Megapixel1600 x 1200 pixels = 2 Megapixels2048 x 1536 pixels = 3 Megapixels2272 x 1704 pixels = 4 Megapixels2560 x 1920 pixels = 5 Megapixels ... and so on
Memory stick. -A flash memory storage device developed by Sony.
Memory Stick Pro - The year 2003 upgrade to Sony's Memory Stick flash cards. The new MS Pro cards are available in 256MB, 512MB and 1GB capacities and offer faster read/write times. All of Sony's digicams made in 2003 or after can use MS Pro cards.
Microdrive - IBM/Hitachi miniature hard disk drive for digital cameras and PDA devices. Packaged in a CompactFlash Type II housing and available in 170MB, 340MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB capacities.
miniCD - The small diameter (3-inch) CD discs. miniCD-R and miniCD-R/W discs are used in the Sony Mavica "CD" series (CD200, CD250, CD300, CD400 and CD1000) digicams. Their maximum capacity is ~165MB mm - millimeter, measurement to denote the focal length of a lens (i.e. 50mm)
MMC - MultiMedia Card, a flash memory card used in some digicams and MP3 players. It is identical in size and shape to the Secure Digital (SD) flash cards.
Moore’s Law. -Gordon Moore’s law that predicted that the number of transistors on a chip would double every 18 months.
MPEG.- A digital video format developed by the Motion Pictures Expert Group.
MPEG-HQX - Motion JPEG movie file created by year 2002 Sony cameras that incorporates the MPEG-HQ (high quality, full-screen) and the unlimited recording capability of MPEG-EX in 320x240 resolution. MPEG-VX - Motion JPEG movie file created by year 2003 Sony digicams. It is VGA resolution (640x480) at 16fps with audio and the length is limited only by available storage space. VX Fine is 30fps, very high quality. Multi-Pattern Metering - Exposure is determined by reading many different zones in the frame. This yields a more optimum exposure than those cameras using only a central zone metering system. Multi-Point Focusing - The autofocus systems uses SEVERAL different portions of the image to determine the proper focus. Multi Zone Focusing - Many digital cameras now offer multi zone focusing. The camera will automatically determine which zone (center, left, right, upper, lower) to use to perform the auto focusing. You no longer have to make sure that your subject is dead-center to be properly focused.
Multi-megapixel. An image or image sensor with over two million pixels.
Multiple exposure mode. A mode that lets you superimpose one image on top of another.
Multiple exposure. An image made up of two or more images superimposed in the camera.
NEF - Raw image data file format used by the Nikon digital SLR (D1x, D100, etc) and some Coolpix digicams. NEF means Nikon Electronic Format.
NiCad. Nickel cadmium battery.
NiMH. Nickel metal hydride battery.
Noise. Pixels on the image sensor that misread the light.
Noise Reduction - Some cameras that offer long shutter speeds (exceeding 1 second) usually have a noise reduction (NR) feature that is either automatic or can be enabled in the menu. This is to help eliminate random "hot" pixels and other image noise. NTSC - Term used to describe the 60 field video output (television) standard used in the U.S. and Japan. See also "PAL" and "Video Out"
Operating system. The program that controls the camera’s or computer’s hardware.
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer. Means that the piece of equipment is made by one company but labeled for and sold by another company.
OLED - Organic Light Emitting Diode - Newly developed display technology that could replace LCD. OLED does not require a backlight like LCD displays and therefore is more energy efficient which is important to battery-operated portable devices. It also offers increased contrast and a better viewing angle which means it can be more easily viewed in bright (sunlight) conditions. Optical Zoom - Means that the camera has a real multi-focal length lens, this is not the same as a "Digital Zoom" which magnifies the center portion of the picture. ORF - Olympus RAW format. The unprocessed image format created by Olympus E1, E10, E20, E300 SLRs and C-5050, C-5060, C-8080 Zoom cameras.
Orientation sensor.- A sensor that knows when you turn the camera to take a vertical shot and rotates the picture so it won’t be displayed on it’s side when you view it.
Overexposure-. Exposing the image sensor to more light than is needed to render the scene as the eye sees it. Results in a too light photograph.
PAL-. A European video out standard to display images on a TV screen.
Palette - A thumbnail of all available colors to a computer or devices. The palette allows the user to chose which colors are available for the computer to display. The more colors the larger the data and the more processing time required to display your images. If the system uses 24-bit color, then over 16.7 million colors are included in the palette.
Panorama. -A photograph with much wider horizontal coverage that a normal photograph, up to 360-degrees and more.
Panoramic mode-. A digital camera mode that uses just the center band on the image sensor to capture an image that is much wider than it is tall.
Parallel port-. A port on the computer that is faster than a serial port but slower than SCSI, USB, or IEEE 1394 ports. Often used by printers and flash card readers.
PC card. -A card, in the case of cameras usually a storage device, that plugs into a slot in a notebook or hand-held computer. Originally called PCMCIA cards.
Photosite. A small area on the surface of an image sensor that captures the brightness for a single pixel in the image. There is one photosite for every pixel in the image.
PictBridge - PictBridge is a new standard for direct USB printing from digital cameras to inkjet and dye sub photo printers without the use of a computer
PIM - PRINT Image Matching - Epson's new standard of embedded color and printing information for digital cameras. Many of the camera manufacturers have joined with Epson and now embed the PIM information in the Exif header of the JPEG images created. Epson just announced at PMA 2002 the new Exif 2.2 standard incorporating their PIM info.
Pin-Cushioning - A common geometric lens distortion causing an acquired image to pucker toward the center, usually found at telephoto focal lengths
Pixelization.- An effect seen when you enlarge a digital image too much and the pixels become obvious.
Pixels. -The small picture elements that make up a digital photograph.
Plug-n-Play - An automated installation process used in MS Windows to connect peripherals to a computer. When new devices are plugged into the computer the computer recognizes the device and prompts the user to choose setup options and finish installation.
Polarizer - A photographic filter for eliminating glare and reflections. Just like your polarized sunglasses get rid of annoying glare, the polarizer filter does the same for your digicam. However - there are 2 types, linear and circular. Linear polarise screws up most auto focus systems on digicams. Therefore be sure you use a circular polarizer filter. It is also used to darken skies.
PPI - Pixels Per Inch - A measurement to describe the size of a printed image. The higher the number the more detailed the print will be.
Pre-Flash - Some digicams use a low-power flash before the main flash to set the exposure and white balance. This does not allow the use of a normal photo slave strobe as it will be triggered by the pre-flash.
Programmed AE - the camera picks the best shutter speed and aperture automatically, also called "Automatic" or "Point-n-Shoot" mode.
Progressive Scan - Term used to describe an image sensor that gathers its data and processes each scan line one after another in sequence. See also "Interlaced" for the other method. Prosumer - Refers to more expensive semi-professional digicams costing $1,000 and up. The average digicam is made for the consumer market and costs well under $1,000.
Port-. An electrical connection on the computer into which a cable can be plugged so the computer can communicate with another device such as a printer or modem.
Portrait mode-. Turning the camera to take a vertically oriented photograph.
Preview screen.- A small LCD display screen on the back of the camera used to compose or look at photographs.
QuickTime - A motion video standard created by Apple. QuickTime video sequences can contain an audio track and are stored as .MOV files. QVGA - Refers to a Quarter-VGA resolution (320 x 240) motion video sequences.
Rangefinder - The viewfinder on most cameras is a separate viewing device that is independent of the lens. Often mounted above and to the right or left of the lens. It exhibits a problem known as parallax when trying to frame subjects closer than five feet from the camera so it is advisable to use the color LCD when shooting closeups for this very reason.
RAW - RAW files store the unprocessed image data - at 12 bits per channel - from the camera's imaging chip to its memory storage device. Lossless compression is applied to reduce filesize slightly without compromising any quality. RAW image files must be processed with special software before they can be viewed or printed. The advantage is that you have the ability to alter the white balance, exposure value, color values, contrast, brightness and sharpness as you see fit before you convert this data into the standard JPEG or TIFF format. Professional digi-photographers import RAW image data directly into photo-editing programs like Photoshop CS (which comes with a Camera Raw import module that works with most popular RAW formats.).
Read out register.- The part of a CCD image sensor that reads the charges built up during an exposure.
Recycle time. -The time it takes to process and store a captured image.
Red-eye reduction mode.- A mode that fires a preliminary flash to close the iris of the eye before firing the main flash to take the picture.
Red-eye. -An effect that causes peoples eyes to look red in flash exposures.
Refresh rate. -The time it takes the camera to capture the image after you press the shutter release.
Render - The final step of an image transformation or three-dimensional scene through which a new image is refreshed on the screen.
Resize - Usually means to take a large image and downsize it to a smaller one. Most graphic viewing and editing programs offer a Resize option for this purpose.
Resolution - The quality of any digital image, whether printed or displayed on a screen, depends in part on its resolution—the number of pixels used to create the image. More and smaller pixels adds detail and sharpens edges. Optical Resolution is an absolute number that the camera's image sensor can physically record. Interpolated Resolution adds pixels to the image using complex software algorithms to determine what color they should be. It is important to note that interpolation doesn't add any new information to the image - it just makes it bigger!
Camera makers often specify the resolution as: QVGA (320 x 240), VGA (640 x 480), SVGA (800 x 600), XGA (1024 x 768) or UXGA (1600 x 1200)
RGB - Means Red, Green and Blue - the primary colors from which all other colors are derived. The additive reproduction process mixes various amounts of red, green and blue to produce other colors. Combining one of these additive colors primary colors with another produces the additive secondary colors cyan, magenta and yellow. Combining all three produces white. RS-232 - Standard type of serial data interconnection available on most PC type computers. It's the slowest way to transfer image data from a camera. Most digicams made after 2001 do not use serial ports, they use the faster USB.
Removable media.- Storage media that can be removed from the camera.
Resolution, interpolated. -A process that enlarges an image by adding extra pixels without actually capturing light from those pixels in the initial exposure.
Resolution, optical.- The true resolution of an image based on the number of photosites on the surface of the image sensor.
RGB. -The color system used in most digital cameras where red, green, and blue light is captured separately and then combined to create a full color image.
Saturation - The degree to which a color is undiluted by white light. If a color is 100 percent saturated, it contains no white light. If a color has no saturation, it is a shade of gray.
Scanner- An input device that uses light to read printed information including text, graphics, and bar codes, and transfers it into the computer in a digital format.
Scene Modes - Many digicams now have an exposure mode called SCENE where the user selects the best pre-programmed scene to suit the current shooting conditions. The camera will automatically change many settings to capture the best possible image.
SCSI port.- A port that’s faster than the serial and parallel ports but slower and harder to configure than the newer USB port. Also know as the Small Computer System Interface.
SD - Secure Digital card, a flash memory card used in digicams and MP3 players. It is identical in size and shape to the MultiMedia Card (MMC) flash cards. The difference being that SD card was designed to hold protected (copyrighted) data like songs. Not all cameras that use SD cards can use MMC cards so be sure to read your owner manual before buying additional cards
Self Timer - Preset time delay (2, 5 or 10 seconds) before the shutter fires. Allows the photographer to get into the picture without using a cable release or remote control. It is also great for taking macro shots as you don't touch the camera to trip the shutter and thus eliminates any camera shake.
Serial port. -A very slow port on the computer used mainly by modems. Many digital cameras come equipped with cable to download images through this port but it’s slow! Both parallel and USB ports are faster connections.
Short-focal-length lens (wide angle). A lens that provides a wide angle of view of a scene, including more of the subject area than does a lens of normal focal length.
Shutter Speed. The length of time the shutter is open and light strikes the image sensor.
Shutter. The device in the camera that opens and closes to let light from the scene strike the image sensor and expose the image.
Shutter Lag - The time between pressing the shutter and actually capturing the image. This due to the camera has to calculate the exposure, set the white balance and focus the lens.
Shutter-priority mode. An automatic exposure system in with you set the shutter speed and the camera selects the aperture (f-stop) for correct exposure.
Skylight Filter - This is an UltraViolet absorbing filter that helps overcome the abundance of blue in outdoor photographs. Not really necessary in digital photography as the camera's white balance system adjusts for the color temperature of the scene. We do use them to protect the camera's lens from scratching, fingerprints or dirt.
Slow Sync - A flash mode in some digicams that opens the shutter for a longer than normal period and fires the flash just before it closes. Used for illuminating a foreground subject yet allowing a darker background to also be rendered. Good for night time shots of buildings with people in the foreground. Often called Night Scene or Night Portrait mode.
SLR. A type of camera with one lens which is used both for viewing and taking the picture.
SmartMedia - (aka SSFDC), a flash memory card that consists of a thin piece of plastic with laminated memory on the surface and uses a gold contact strip to connect to the camera. SmartMedia cards are available from 4MB up to 128MB in size.
Spot Metering. Autoexposure is based on a meter reading of a small circle in the center of the viewfinder.
Smoothing - Averaging pixels with their neighbors. It reduces contrast and simulates an out-of-focus image. Spot Metering - The camera's auto exposure system is focused on a very small area in the center of the viewfinder to critically adjust the overall exposure value ONLY for that area.
SRF - Sony raw format filetype identifier. i.e. DSC00101.
SRF SSFDC - Solid State Floppy Disc Card Stitching - Combining a series of images to form a larger image or a panoramic photo. Requires special graphic software. Subtractive Color - Photographs and objects of nature create color by subtracting or absorbing certain wavelengths of color while reflecting other wavelengths back to the viewer. This is called subtractive color. Example - The common apple, it is seen as "red" by the human eye or a digital camera. The apple really has no color (light energy of its own), it merely reflects certain wavelengths of white light that cause us to see red and absorbs most other wavelengths. Color paintings, color photography and all color printing processes use the subtractive process to reproduce color. In these cases, the reflective substrate is canvas (paintings) or paper (photographs, prints), which is usually white. SuperCCD - Fujifilm's image sensor used in their line of digital cameras.
SVCD - "Super Video Compact Disc"A CD-ROM disc that contains high quality video and audio. Typically, a SVCD can hold about 35~45 minutes (650MB) of video and stereo-quality audio (depends on the data rate used for encoding). The video and audio are stored in MPEG-2 format, much like a DVD. SVCD video has better quality than VHS video.
SVGA - SuperVGA refers to an image resolution size of 800 x 600 pixels.
Tagged Image File Format. See TIFF.
Thru-the-lens. See TTL.
TIFF. A popular lossless image format used in digital photography.
Time-lapse photography. Taking a series of pictures at preset intervals to show such things as flower blossoms opening.
TTL. A camera design that let’s you compose an image while looking at the scene through the lens that will take the picture. Also called thru-the-lens.
TWAIN - Protocol for exchanging information between applications and devices such as scanners and digital cameras. TWAIN makes it possible for digital cameras and software to "talk" with one another on PCs. The word TWAIN is the abbreviation of "Technology Without An Industry Name."
Unbundling. When a dealer removes normally included items from a camera package and then sells them to you separately.
Underexposure. Exposing the film to less light than is needed to render the scene as the eye sees it. Results in a too dark photograph.
Unsharp Masking - A process by which the apparent detail of an image is increased; generally accomplished by the input scanner or through computer manipulation. USB - Universal Serial Bus - the data I/O port on most digicams and found on modern PC and Mac computers. Faster than the serial port. Up to 12Mb/s with v1.1 interfaces. USB 2.0 - The newest USB standard, close in throughput speed to FireWire now. Up to 400Mb/s.
It's important to note that many manufacturers are now "duping" the buying public by using statements like - "Equipped with a full-speed USB 2.0 interface" which unfortunately means that it's really just a USB 1.1 interface that will transfer data at up to 12Mb/s with newer USB 2.0 computer interfaces. What you should look for is a statement that says "Equipped with a high-speed USB 2.0 interface." The specification for a high-speed USB 2.0 interface is data transfer up to 400Mb/s.
UV Filter - This is an UltraViolet absorbing filter that helps overcome the abundance of blue in outdoor photographs. Not really necessary in digital photography as the camera's white balance system adjusts for the color temperature of the scene. We do use them to protect the camera's lens from scratching, fingerprints or dirt.
UXGA - Refers to an image resolution size of 1600 x 1200 pixels.
Upload. Sending a file from your computer to another device.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator). The address of a Web site.
USB port.- A high-speed port that lets you daisy-chain devices (connect one device to another).
VGA.- A resolution of 640 x 480.
Video card-. A card the fits into a computer’s expansion slot so you can edit digital video.
Viewfinder-. A separate window on the camera through which you look to compose images.
VGA - Refers to an image resolution size of 640 x 480 pixels. Video Out - Means the digicam has the ability to output its images on television screens and monitors using either NTSC or PAL format.
Viewfinder - The eye level device you look through to compose the image. Vignetting - A term that describes the darkening of the outer edges of the image area due to the use of a filter or add-on lens. Most noticeable when the zoom lens is in full wideangle
White balance. An automatic or manual control that adjusts the brightest part of the scene so it looks white.
X3 Image Sensor - Foveon's new image sensor for digital cameras that captures red, green and blue data at every pixel.
xD-Picture Card - A new flash memory card standard that was co-developed by Fujifilm and Olympus in mid-2002. Rumored to be replacing SmartMedia which has stalled at 128MB. xD is scheduled to go as large as 8GB in a form factor the size of a postage stamp.
XGA - Refers to an image resolution size of 1024 x 768 pixels.
ZLR - Zoom Lens Reflex, a term coined by Olympus to describe their fixed mount lens SLR type cameras. An SLR camera has interchangeable lenses, a ZLR has a non-removeable zoom lens. Zoom Lens - A variable focal length lens. . A lens that lets you change focal lengths on the fly.

A Short Glossary of Digital Photography Terms-Part-2

2008-11-24T04:20:00.000-08:00

Dark Frame - A noise reduction process whereby a camera takes a second exposure of a black frame after the camera takes a long exposure (1/2-second or longer) image. The image "noise" is easily identified in the black frame shot and is then electronically removed from the actual image. This helps reduce the amount of hot pixels that normally show up in long exposure shots from digital cameras. Decompression - The process by which the full data content of a compressed file is restored.

Dedicated Flash - Describes an electronic flash that is made to be used only with a specific model of camera. Canon, Nikon, Olympus and other cameras have specific electrical contacts in the hot shoe to pass TTL-metering and AF range data to/from the flash unit. You can not use a dedicated Canon flash on a Nikon camera for example.

Densitometer - A tool used to measure the amount of light that is reflected or transmitted by an object.
Diffusion Dithering - A method of dithering that randomly distributes pixels instead of using a set pattern. Digital Film - Term used to describe solid state flash memory cards.

Digital Zoom - A digital magnification of the center 50% of an image. Digital zooms by nature generate less than sharp images because the new "zoomed" image has been interpolated.

Digitization - The process of converting analog information into digital format for use by a computer.

Diopter Adjustment - Adjusts the optical viewfinder's magnification factor to suit the eyesight of the user. Look for a knob or dial next to or beneath the viewfinder's eyepiece. Not all cameras have this feature.

Dithering - A method for simulating many colors or shades of gray with only a few. A limited number of same-colored pixels located close together are seen as a new color.
DPI - Dots per Inch. A measurement value used to describe either the resolution of a display screen or the output resolution of a printer.

DPOF - Digital Print Order Format. Allows you to embed printing information on your memory card. Select the pictures to be printed and how many prints to make. Some photo printers with card slots will use this info at print time. Mostly used by commercial photo finishers or those Kodak kiosks you find in the mall.

DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory. A type of memory that is volatile - it is lost when the power is turned off.

DRAM Buffer - All digicams have a certain amount of fixed memory in them to facilitate image processing before the finished picture is stored to the flash memory card. Cameras that have a burst mode have much larger DRAM buffers, often 32MB or larger. This also makes them more expensive. DSLR - Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera. Interchangeable lens digital camera. Manufacturers include Canon, Fuji, Kodak, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax and Sigma.
DVD - "Digital Versatile Disc"DVD is DVD-Video recorded on a DVD-R or DVD-RW disc, which contains superior quality video (MPEG-2) and audio. Typically, a DVD can hold more than one hour of video.
Dye Sub - Dye Sublimation is a printing process where the color dyes are thermally transferred to the printing media. Dye sub printers use the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) color format and have either three ribbons (cyan, magenta and yellow) or high-end printers have four CMY plus a blacK. The paper is run in and out of the printer four times, once for each color and then a fourth time when a protective overcoat is applied. Dye sub is continuous tone printing; it prints tiny square dots each of which is denser in the center and lighter on the edges. These dots can be varied from almost no dot at all to an almost completely solid dot. The dyes are transparent so different colored dots can be printed on top of each other to form any one of 16-million colors. This is known as the subtractive color process. Dye sub prints rival conventional photographs in both their color gamut and longevity with water and UV resistant qualities.
Dynamic Range - A measurement of the accuracy of an image in color or gray level. More bits of dynamic range results in finer gradations being preserved.
Depth of field. The distance between the nearest and farthest points that appears in acceptably sharp focus in a photograph. Depth of field varies with lens aperture, focal length, and camera-to-subject distance.
Docking station. A small base connected to the computer by a cable. You insert the camera or other device into the docking station to transfer images.
Download. Sending a file from another device to your computer.
E-TTL / E-TTL II - Canon's flash exposure system used on their digital SLRs. To quote Canon: "The “smarter” E-TTL II system captures the subject as a “plane” and ensures that images containing various colors and levels of reflection are captured accurately and optimally. The system compares the ambient light with the reflected pre- flash off the subject reported in all 35 metering zones and selects the areas with a small difference to be weighted for flash exposure calculation. This system also eliminates or under weights areas with large difference recognizing them as an extremely reflective object in the background or as a highly reflective subject, smartly ensuring it by considering the distance information data provided from compatible EF lenses. The system similarly prevents over-exposure when photographers lock focus and recompose the shot by considering the flash output level calculated according to the broader distance."

EPP - Enhanced Parallel Port - the newer hi-speed, bidirectional printer port on modern computers. Some older digicams and scanners use the EPP port to transfer data.

ERI-JPEG - Extended Range Imaging Technology, a new file format used in Kodak professional digital cameras. This proprietary technology offers an innovative image file format similar to a JPEG, but with the dynamic range and color gamut information of raw DCR camera files. Extended Range Imaging Technology files allow you to easily open, edit, and print JPEG files within your JPEG workflow. Your JPEG files are captured directly in the camera. With ERI, you'll have the extensive editing, color balance, and color compensation capabilities of RAW digital negatives for applying to your JPEG files.

E-TTL - Canon's Evaluative-TTL exposure system that uses a brief pre-flash before the main flash to calculate the exposure index.

EV - Exposure Value, a very complex thing but in the digicam world it usually means the ability to override the auto exposure system to lighten or darken an image. EVF - Electronic ViewFinder, a small color LCD with a magnified lens that functions as an eye level viewfinder. Usually found on video camcorders but they have been showing up on super-zoom digicams where optical viewfinders are impractical. (Canon Pro90, Fuji 2800Z, Olympus C-2100, Nikon Coolpix 5700).

EXIF - EXIF (Exchangeable Image File format) refers to the embedded camera and exposure information that a digital camera puts in the header of the JPG files it creates. Many graphic programs (Photoshop, ThumbsPlus, Qimage Pro, CameraAid) can read and display this information.

Exif Print - Exif Print (Exif 2.2) is a new worldwide printer independent standard. Under Exif 2.2, the digital still camera can record data tags for specific camera settings and functions such as whether the flash was on or off, if the camera was in landscape, portrait or night scene mode, etc. Referencing some or all of this information, an Exif Print compatible application can process digital camera images intelligently based on specific camera settings and the shooting environment.
Exposure compensation. The ability to adjust exposure by one or two stops to lighten or darken the image.
Exposure/focus lock. The ability to point at one part of the scene and hold the shutter button half-way down to lock in exposure and focus settings when you point the camera elsewhere to compose the scene.
Firewire. See IEEE 1394.
Flash card reader. An accessory that attaches to your computer by cable. You insert a flash memory card into the reader to transfer files.
Flash memory card. A card containing chips that store images.
Flash memory. A form of memory using chips instead of magnetic media. The data in the device isn’t lost when the power is turned off.
Flash, fill. Flash used to fill shadows even when there is enough light to otherwise take the photograph.
Flash, ring. -A special circular flash that fits over a lens to take close-up pictures
Flash, slave.- A flash that fires when it senses the light from another flash unit.
FlashPix. -An image format that contains a number of resolutions, each of which is broken into tiles that can be edited and displayed independently.
Floppy drive,-A storage device on almost all computers that accepts 3 ½ or 5 ¼-inch floppy disks.
FPX - FlashPiX - Trade name for a new multi-resolution image file format jointly developed and introduced in June 1996 by Kodak, HP, Microsoft and Live Picture.
Full Bleed - Printing term used when an image or inked area extends to the edge of all four sides of the printed piece. Better known as "borderless" in today's world of inkjet photo printers.
Frame grabber. A device that lets you capture individual frames out of a video camera or off a video tape.
Frame Rate. The number of pictures that can be taken in a given period of time.
Gamma - A measure of the amount of contrast found in an image according to the properties of a gradation curve. High contrast has high gamma and low contrast low gamma.

Gamma Correction - In reference to displaying an image accurately on a computer screen, Gamma correction controls the overall brightness of an image. Images which are not properly corrected can look either bleached out, or too dark.
Gamut - The range of colors that are available in an image or output process. It is generally used in describing the capabilities of a printer to reproduce colors faithfully and vibrantly - i.e. "The xxxxx printer has a wide color gamut."
GIF. -An image file format designed for display of line art on the Web.
Gray market.- Importing camera equipment outside of the normal manufacturer’s distribution channels to take advantage of lower prices elsewhere in the world.
Gigabyte (GB) - A measure of computer memory or disk space consisting of about one thousand million bytes (a thousand megabytes). The actual value is 1,073,741,824 bytes (1024 megabytes). Gradation - A smooth transition between black and white, one color and another, color and no color. Gray Level - The brightness of a pixel. The value associated with a pixel representing it's lightness from black to white. Usually defined as a value from 0 to 255, with 0 being black and 255 being white. Gray Scale - A term used to describe an image containing shades of gray rather than color. Most commonly referred to as a black and white photo
Guide Number - The output power rating of a electronic flash unit.
HAD CCD - Sony's latest CCD imager, HAD = Hole Accumulation Diode

Halftone Image - An image reproduced through a special screen made up of dots of various sizes to simulate shades of gray in a photograph. Typically used for newspaper or magazine reproduction of images but it is also how today's inkjet printers work. Halftoning or dithering are the methods used to produce a smooth gradation of color versus distinct bands of color or moirè patterns.

HD - Hard drive (aka HDD), the internal, large-capacity data storage unit in today's PC computers.

HDTV - High Definition Television. New video "standard" that will resolve 1,125 lines in the United States instead of the traditional 525 lines of the NTSC standard. The aspect ratio is 16:9 versus 4:3 of regular TV sets. Histogram - A bar graph analysis tool that can be used to identify contrast and dynamic range of an image. Histograms are found in the more advanced digicams and software programs (graphic editors) used to manipulate digital images. The histogram shows a scale of 0 - 255 (left to right) with 0 being black and 255 being white.

Hot Shoe - A flash connector generally found on the top of the camera that lets you attach a flash unit and trigger it in sync with the shutter. Hologram Laser AF - Sony introduced a new laser-assisted auto focus system on the Cyber-shot DCS-F707 that uses a safe Class 1 laser to paint a grid on the subject that makes the auto focus fast and accurate. Also found on the DSC-F717, F828, V1 and V3 cameras.

Hue - A term used to describe the entire range of colors of the spectrum; hue is the component that determines just what color you are using. In gradients, when you use a color model in which hue is a component, you can create rainbow effects.
IEEE 1394.- A new port on the computer capable of transferring large amounts of data. Currently the fastest available port.
i-TTL - Nikon's new flash exposure system, used on new D70 digital SLR and SB-600 and SB-800 Speedlights.

ICC Profile - The International Color Consortium, a group that sets standard guidelines for color management in the imaging world. Most printers, monitors and scanners as well as digital cameras, usually come with a driver disc for Windows and Mac systems that includes ICC profiles for the particular device. Color profiles simply let one piece of hardware or software "know" how another device or image created its colors and how they should be interpreted or reproduced. IEEE-1284 - This is the high-speed bidirectional parallel port specification used on Windows PCs mostly for printers.

IEEE-1394 - Better known as "FireWire" - it's a high-speed input/output bus used by digital video devices, film/flatbed scanners, high-end digital still cameras & PCs. iESP - Olympus' exposure metering system. iLink - Sony's term for IEE-1394 FireWire data port found on their camcorders. Image Processing - Capturing and manipulating images in order to enhance or extract information. Image Resolution - The number of pixels per unit length of image. For example, pixels per inch, pixels per millimeter, or pixels wide.
Image sensor. A solid-state device containing a photosite for each pixel in the image. Each photosite records the brightness of the light that strikes it during an exposure.
Image Stabilization - An optical or digital system for removing or reducing camera movement in telephoto zoom lenses. Usually found only on extremely long focal length lenses such as the 10X lens on Sony Mavicas and Olympus C-2100UZ, E-100RS. Can also be found on Panasonic FZ1/FZ2/FZ10's 12X Leica zoom lens. InfoLITHIUM - Sony's "smart" lithium rechargeable battery pack. It has a chip inside that tells the camera how long (in minutes) it will last at the current discharge rate.

Inkjet - A type of printer that sprays dots of ink onto paper to create the image. Modern inkjet printers now have resolutions of up to 2880dpi and create true photo-quality prints. Interlaced - Term used to describe an image sensor that gathers its data by first processing the odd lines and then the even lines. See also "Progressive Scan" for the other (preferred) method. Interpolated - Software programs can enlarge image resolution beyond the actual resolution by adding extra pixels using complex mathematic calculations. See "Resolution" below Intervalometer - Fancy term for Time-Lapse. Capture an image or series of images at preset intervals automatically. Interval Recording - Capturing a series of images at preset intervals. Also called time-lapse.
Infrared. See IrDA. IR - InfraRed (aka IrDA) uses an invisible (to humans) beam of light to either wirelessly control a device or as a method of transferring data from camera to computer (or printer) without cables. Some cameras also employ infrared in the auto focusing system.
Interpolation. In an image interpolation adds extra pixels. It’s done with some zoom lenses.
Inverse square law. The physical law that causes light from a flash to fall off in such a way that as flash to subject distance doubles, the light falls off by a factor of four.
IrDA. -An agreed upon standard that allows data to be transferred between devices using infrared light instead of cables..
ISO.- A number rating indicating the relative sensitivity to light of an image sensor or photographic film. Faster film (higher ISO) is more sensitive to light and requires less exposure than does slower film.

Turn Off Vibration Reduction (or IS) of your camera

2008-11-22T05:06:00.000-08:00

The big rage in digital lenses these days are the Vibration Reduction (VR) lens from Nikon and the Image Stabilization (IS) lens from Canon, which help you get sharper images while hand-holding your camera in low-light situations. Basically, they let you hand-hold in more low-light situations by stabilizing the movement of your lens when your shutter is open longer, and honestly, they work wonders for those instances where you can't work on a tripod (like weddings, some sporting events, when you're shooting in a city, or just places where they simply won't let you set up a tripod). If you're in one of those situations, I highly recommend these VR or IS lenses, but depending on which one you use, there are some rules about when you should turn them off. For example, I shall start with Nikon. If you are shooting on a tripod with a Nikon VR lens, to get sharper images turn the VR feature off (you do this right on the lens itself by turning the VR switch to the off position). The non-technical explanation why is, these VR lenses look for vibration. If they don't find any, they'll go looking for it, and that looking for vibration when there is absolutely none can cause (you guessed it) some small vibration. So just follow this simple rule: When you're hand-holding, turn VR or IS on. When you're shooting on a tripod, for the sharpest images possible, turn VR or IS off. Now, there are some Nikon VR lenses and some older Canon IS lenses that can be used on a tripod with VR or IS turned on. So, be sure to check the documentation that came with your VR or IS lens to see if yours needs to be turned off.

Varioptic liquid lens

2008-11-20T20:10:00.000-08:00

It's not even two years ago that Varioptic launched a new liquid lens for a number of new markets, the communications market for mobile phones, PDAs, web cams, and the entertainment market for digital cameras, camcorders and gaming applications. Today, the total manufacturing capacity is already at 100.000 units per month and is planned to reach 1 million units at the end of this year. Varioptic's liquid lenses, using two drops of liquid, act similarly to the human eye, in that they can change shape, to zoom or focus automatically...

HIGHLIGHTS
The liquid lenses that we develop are based on the electrowetting phenomenon. A water drop is deposited on a substrate made of metal, covered by a thin insulating layer. The voltage applied to the substrate modifies the contact angle of the liquid drop. The liquid lens uses two isodensity liquids, one is an insulator while the other is a conductor. The variation of voltage leads to a change of curvature of the liquid-liquid interface, which in turn leads to a change of the focal length of the lens.Intellectual Property Varioptic has pioneered the electrowetting technology since its founding and is now at the forefront of all advances in this field. Varioptic owns 2 fundamental global patents on the technology and is dedicating much of its resources to improve and patent new advances in this technology.

Key competitive advantages

• Large inverse focal length range

• Ruggedness (No moving parts )

• Fast response

• Very good optical quality

• Good transparency in the visible range

• Wide Operating temperature range

• Very good stability of the optical axis

• Extremely low electrical consumption

• Simple low-cost construction.

Source-http://www.varioptic.com/en/tech/technology-overview.php

Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts - Magic at your Fingertips!

2008-11-20T04:15:00.000-08:00

Photoshop is a powerful tool. One of my favorite things about the program is that you can use your mouse in conjunction with your keyboard to save time and really get down to business. Keyboard shortcuts are a serious time-saver when working in the digital darkroom.
Keyboard Shortcuts are keystrokes used to quickly invoke a command. Shortcuts usually (but not always) involve a modifier key such as Ctrl, Alt, or Shift. For example, instead of choosing Select » Deselect from the menus, you could simply press Ctrl+D.These commands are a little awkward and cumbersome at first, but once you pick up a couple of commands on the keyboard you’ll never go back. The whole idea is that while one hand is running the mouse, the other hand might as well be doing something too. This method of working with Photoshop can really decrease your time spent on the computer and give you more time to get behind the camera.
You can explore Photoshop's menus to see which commands have keystroke shortcuts. Also, if you float your pointer over any tool on the toolbar, a pop-up box will tell you the tool's name and key command.
Speed isn't the only benefit of using keyboard shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts can improve your efficiency, and in some cases, they can even invoke commands that might not otherwise be available (e.g., zooming while a dialog box is open, or inserting a Select forward layer command into an action).
I've complied a lists of my favorite commands and keys that I use everyday. I thought it would be nice to share, ……………….Enjoy…..Rajendra

The Magical Keys
Here is a list of a few Magical Keyboard Shortcuts that I use everyday. The sweet thing about these shortcuts is that they are only one little keystroke.
M: The Marquee tool.
W: The Magic Wand selection tool.
V: The Move tool.
U: The Vector Shape tool.
B: The Brush tool.
F: The Paint Bucket (a/k/a Fill).
E: The Eraser tool.
[ or ]: Increase or decrease Brush or Eraser size by ten.
I: The Eyedroper tool.
D: Set your Pallet back to Black and White (default).
X: Switch foreground and background colors.
H: The Hand tool.
Space Bar: Whatever tool you're using, if you hold the Space Bar, the Hand tool will
What the "Shift" Key Can Do
The Shift key is another magical tool in Photoshop. It affects several different tools in different ways. For example:
Shift and the Marquee tool (M): Holding Shift while dragging the Marquee tool will turn your rectangle or sphere into a perfect square, circle or oval.
Shift and the Shape tool (U): Like the Marquee tool, this will make a perfect shape, either a square, circle or one of the custom shapes you select from the drop down menu.
Shift and a Guide Line: Holding Shift while moving a Guide Line will make the line snap to your ruler (so that you can line up your Guide at 1", 1 1/2" or 2", etc.).
Shift and the Brush tool (B): You can paint from point to point! Click once to paint and move cursor to where you would like to end your line. Hold Shift and click to paint. A line will magically appear in between Point A to Point B.
Shift and a Shortcut Key: This will cycle you through any hidden tools. For example holding Shift and tapping "B" will cycle through the Paint Brush, the Pencil and the Color Replacement tools. You can also edit your preferences (CTRL + K) and deselect " Use Shift Key for Tool Switch" so that simple tapping a key like "B" will cycle through your hidden tools.
Gain Control... with CTRL
Here is a list of my most frequently used CTRL Commands in Photoshop.
CTRL + N: Create a new document.
CTRL + O: Open a document.
CTRL + W: Close a document.
CTRL + S: Save a document.
CTRL + SHIFT + S: "Save as" (give document a new name or save in a different format).
CTRL + K: Edit your preferences.
CTRL + Z: Undo the last function.
CTRL + A: Select All (something you must do to cut or copy anything).
CTRL + D: Deselect All.
CTRL + X: Cut.
CTRL + C: Copy.
CTRL + SHIFT + C: Copy all the layers as a merge whole.
CTRL + V: Paste.
CTRL + T: The Transform tool.
CTRL + L: Adjust Levels (the magic photo saver!).
CTRL + U: Adjust Hue, Saturation and Lightness.
CTRL + SHIFT + U: Desaturate.
CTRL + I: Invert colors.
CTRL + J: Move selection to new layer via a Copy.
CTRL + SHIFT + J: Move selection to new layer via a Cut.
CTRL + ALT + G: Create Clipping Mask (make layer conform to the shape of the layer below it).
CTRL + E: Merge layer down.
CTRL + SHIFT + E: Merge every visible layer.
CTRL + ALT + R: Crop.
CTRL + F: Repeat the last Filter
CTRL + New Layer Button: Creates a new layer under your current layer

There are too many shortcuts but above are just a listing of my favorites. Do you have one that I left off th

SOLARIZATION OF PHOTOGRAPHS

2008-11-20T00:02:00.000-08:00

“I don’t know how it is done, but I like” it is a standard reaction of a budding photographer when he observes a solarized picture in an exhibition for the first time. Solarization is a darkroom technique with the help of which any ordinary photograph can be made to look graphic & surrealistic. Now you can also make solarised prints following the technique described below.

True Solarization is the complete or partial reversal of an image by extreme overexposure-about 1,000 times the amount required to give a normal negative image on development in the camera. True solarization often occurs when a very intense light source-e.g. An electric ark –appears in the picture and is grossly overexposed. Because of solarization, the source reproduces as a black patch on the print instead of clear white.
Nowadays the term solarization is often used, however to refer to the Sabattier Effect or Pseudo-Solarization, which produces results similar in appearance. For producing sabattier effect the print or negative is re exposed halfway during development. The already developed image acts as a negative through which the rest of the silver bromide is exposed. Some reversal of the image occurs and the result is part negative and part positive. A further distinction is that the Sabattier effect produces a fine line of low density between the fogged and already developed area of the image, this line is called Makie Line. This happens partly because there is always an increased concentration of bromide ions in the emulsion at the boundary separating a completely developed area from the one that is just developing. Sabattier effect was supposedly discovered by accident in 1862 by a French scientist named Armand Sabattier so the technique is most correctly referred as Sabattier effect In 1930 Man Ray used it for the first time for producing artistic images.

Subjects:
You can solarize almost anything but negative with large areas of dark tone and simple outlines often yield most satisfying results. Select a subject matter where there is a great wealth of detail that you want to emphasize. The original negative must be contrasty for better result. Nudes, Architecture, etc often produce eye-catching result.

Technique:
Both Prints and the Negatives can be solarised. Generally people solarize Black & White materials but solarising colour negative or transparencies produce some of the most beautiful and eye catching results. I shall try to explain the methods used for solarizing different type of materials. Don’t be afraid, if you have done basic Black & White darkroom processes such as Developing and printing you can do solarization too. For getting consistent solarized result you must standardize your process so that you can get desired result every time.

Print Solarization:

Print solarization can be defined as a complete or partial reversal of tones in an exposed and partially developed paper emulsion when given a uniform second exposure and developed to completion. Through the manipulation and control of multiple variables a variety of effects can be produced, from mere traces of tone in print highlights to posterization-like reversals .For best result take a hard grade paper instead a normal grade pap er. Make a test print to determine the proper exposure time. Place your negative in the enlarger carrier and expose the printing paper up to the time indicated by your test print.
Place the exposed paper inside developer. After developing for two thirds of the regular time pull the print out, place it flat on the table facing up and switch on the darkroom overhead light only for a second. After this re exposure, the paper is then returned again inside the developer to complete it’s development .For example if you are giving 150 seconds developing time, give re-exposure after 100 seconds and then develop again for another 50 seconds.
For re exposure I use a 40-watt milky bulb hanging at a 4 feet distance from the table. I use a bed –switch to turn it off and on. By changing the time of first development and amount of re-exposure you can control your amount of solarizartion. Always use a fresh developer for good result. The exact amount of re-exposure is very important because if you give too much re-exposure you will get a black print instead of a solarized print.

Effect of exposure on Solarization: -
Whether one solarizes paper or film, the initial exposure is very important, as it determines the overall nature of the final image. If the initial exposure is fairly heavy, the final image will be like the image obtained by normal development, no matter how heavy is the second exposure. If the initial exposure is light, the final image will show reversal - that is, tonal values paralleling those of the initial exposure. An intermediate initial exposure can yield a final image containing both negative and positive regions, and it is this type of image that has fascinated the artistic practitioners of solarization.
Effect of the Film or Paper:
The technical quality of a solarized image is dependent on the photographic material (film or paper) used and, especially in the solarization of paper and on the composition of the developer. If either of these factors is not optimal, the solarized image can be "muddy," with gray highlights. The contrast enhancement can also be obtained by using films or papers of medium or low contrast and by using low- contrast developers. During solarization of photographic papers, the choice of paper is very important. Many enlarging papers give rather poor results no matter what kind of developer is used. However, if a suitable developer is used, good results are obtained with Agfa Brovira paper this paper is first choice of solarizers.

Effect of the Developer:
Most general- purpose developers contain both metol and hydroquinone as the active developing agents. These developers serve fairly well in the solarization of film, but give muddy results in print solarization. The fact that a heavily used metol- hydroquinone developer gives better print solarization than the fresh developer has probably been in the lore of solarization for many years. A fresh solution of developer, containing only metol as the developing agent, functions as a good solarizing developer. The inclusion of both hydroquinone and metol in a developer makes it unsatisfactory for solarization of paper. Heavily used developer solutions give good print solarizations merely because the hydroquinone has been consumed, and the sole active developing agent is the remaining metol. A print or film immersed in a clear developer containing only metol as a developer can be uniformly exposed to light in the second exposure and can be clearly observed during the subsequent development.
Following formula for a stock solution of "solarizing developer" having the desirable characteristics outlined above.
solarizing developer
Metol -12.0 gSodium sulfite, anhydrous -37.6 gSodium carbonate monohydrate- 41.0 gSodium bromide -4.8 g
Dissolve chemicals, in the order given, in about 850 ml of water at room temperature, and then dilute to 1 liter. For solarization of enlarging papers, dilute with an equal volume of water and use at 16- 18oC.
Kodak Selectol- Soft is a hydroquinone- free developer is a good alternative that can be used for print solarizations; the stock solution has about the right concentration for use as a working solution in solarization
How to Boost a muddy print?
The highlights of solarized prints (i.e., those areas that reverse when solarized) are usually somewhat degraded during the reversal process .The traditional remedy for muddy solarization has been to use photographic materials of extremely high contrast and to increase the contrast still further by successive copying of the solarized image. For example, a commonly used procedure is to make a positive copy of a solarized negative on a sheet of lithographic film, use that positive to make a negative copy on a second sheet of lithographic film, and then to make a final print using that negative. Each copying step causes such a large increase in contrast that the final print usually lacks all tones between white and black.
You can also use overall or selective reduction in Farmers Reducer to increase the contrast of the print and give it some punch. The formula of Farmers reducer is given below: -
Solution A
Potassium Ferricyanide----50 g
Water-------500 cc
Solution B
Hypo------200 g
Water--- 1000 cc
For this purpose take a big try or developing dish .Take one part of solution A and 5 parts of solution B and mix them in 30 parts of water in a dish of suitable size. Wet the negative or print thoroughly, and then place it in the reducer and start agitating the dish till the image is reduced to desired density. Again wash the print thoroughly in running water to eliminate all traces of reducing chemicals. Solution A and B should only be mixed just prior to use, as the mixed solution deteriorates very rapidly.
For local reduction of small dark areas and highlights, the iodine iodide reducer is best. The formula of iodine iodide reducer is given below: --
Potassum iodide---12 g
Iodine Crystals----10 g
Water----200 cc
The print on which this reducer is being used must be free from hypo so wash the print thoroughly before using this solution. With the help of a fine brush apply the above solution on the highlight carefully. As soon as you apply the reducer that part of the print on which the reducer is applied will become either or purple. Then immerse the print in a plain hypo solution for one or two minutes, this will clear up all the iodine iodide from the surface of the print and you will get a pure sparkling highlight. After this wash the print in water to remove the traces of the chemicals
Solarizing negative:
Photographers prefer to solarize negative because once the solarised negative is ready they can make any number of print whereas in case of print solarization you have to solarize each time. For soalrisation Lith film is used instead of normal negative film. Lith film is a high contrast film so it gives better solarized result, it is an Ortochromatic film so you can use is in Red safelight in darkroom and use it just like bromide paper. Lith films are normally developed in special high contrast developer but you can use usual D-163 or D-19 paper developer. I have got good result with these developers. Step-by-Step solarization procedure is given below.
Take out one of your Black& White negative, which is contrasty and has a good shadow detail. If your starting point is a transparency, make a good negative from it by printing it onto a lith film and use this negative in the next steps given below.
Place your normal /lith negative in enlarger carrier and place a lith film in the easel. Expose some test strips to determine the correct exposure time. Now take a fresh lith film expose and develop the film as usual in D-163 developer for 2 minutes with continuous agitation.
After drying the film contact print it on another lith film.
Now start developing film in the same developer (with emulsion side facing up) with continuous agitation for 30 seconds then settle the film down in the developer for a few seconds without agitation.
Re-expose the film to white light while it is still in developer. Do not agitate the film and let it stay in developer for 90 seconds.
After this, rinse the film in stop bath, then fix, wash and dry the film as usual. You can also use a hair dryer to dry a lith film.
Now make a print of the required size on a hard grade bromide paper.

The secret of obtaining good result is to use a fresh developer each time. Agitate the film continuously before the second exposure, but agitation should be stopped after the second exposure.
Due to contrasty nature of lith film and mackie lines the negative solarization often looks like a pen –and ink drawing.
Colour Solarization: -
You can produce a solarised print form a colour negative. To produce a solarised image of a colour negative first make a colour print from it. Place the negative in the enlarger negative carrier, focus the image, and make a test strip to determine exposure and filtration value . For solarizing this exposed print re expose the colour print with a colour light halfway through the development. For re exposing I use a table lamp fitted with 40-watt milky bulb. This lamp is directed towards the white ceiling so that only weak bounced light falls on the paper. To colour this light I use commonly available cellophane paper over the table lamps reflector. The low wattage of the bulb and bouncing the light makes it weak and permits long fogging exposure and thus considerable control on the final image .By juggling the image and fogging exposure times and colour filtration, you can control the end result.
Colour print soalrization is similar to Black and White print solarization the only difference is that you use colour chemicals, colour paper and colour light .So all the method dealt above in Black & White Solarization are applicable here and need not to be repeated. The one major difference is that you cannot use any safelight during colour print processing you will have to work in total darkness.
Duotone Effects:-
One of the most interesting and little-explored possibilities in print solarization is that of duotone effects. To achieve a duotone effect you should utilize two developers, one for use prior to the solarization exposure, and one for use during and afterward. The first developer should have a very low bromide content--only one or two grams per liter--while the second developer should have a very high bromide content in the vicinity of 30 to 70 grams per liter of working solution, depending upon the paper. The print is exposed and developed for 30 to 60 seconds in the first developer, then is transferred to the second developer where it is solarized and developed to completion. The "fog" that is deposited into what would have been the high values of the normal print will be of a distinctly warmer tone than the darker values developed out in the first development prior to solarization.
When utilizing a high bromide developer it is necessary to use a much brighter light source for the solarization exposure, since bromide tends to reduce emulsion speed. This is where high-wattage bulbs are necessary.

Multiple Solarization: -
Sabattier effect produces a fine line of low density between the fogged and already developed area of the image, this line is called Makie line. One thing you may try is to make double or triple lines. Multiple solarization works best with lith films. Take the first sabattier image and contact print that to a new sheet of lith film. Now solarize this film once again .You will get two instead of one clear line. The effect can be carried out further till you are satisfied. The multiple solarised print has only lines, which gives it an extraordinary look.

Chromoskedasic solarization: -
Chromoskedasic solarization means a coloured solarization made by scattering of light. This is a Black and White print solarization process which gives results similar to colour solarization .In this type of solarization all paper and chemicals used in Black and White solarization are used but it uses thiocyanate as the silver halide solvent in the second developer; producing a whole range of colours in the previously white areas of the print - 'grayish brown, reddish brown, brownish red, orange, yellow, greenish brown, brownish green, purplish brown, brownish purple, blue, or subtle combinations of these' - largely dependent on the pH. The colours are due to the different particle size of the silver produced. A suitable thiocyanate solution to add to print developers is Kodak Ektamatic S30 Stabilizer (an acetate - buffered thiocyanate solution). Developer pH can be increased by using Kodak S2 Activator (a dilute potassium hydroxide solution) or soda and decreased by adding acetic acid or borax.
Partial print Solarization:
Due to second exposure and development you get a solarised print. This second exposure reduces the contrast of the print that is why some photographers use partial print solarization to emphasize their main subject. In partial print solarization the main subject of the print is left intact only the surroundings are solarised so the attention of the viewer is easily directed towards the main subject. Let us take a look how it is done.
This technique can be used either with Black and white or with colour print solarization. Take a plain white paper equal to the size of your printing paper. Enlarge and focus your negative on this piece of white paper. Now take a pencil and draw the outline of that portion of the picture, which you want to keep intact during solarization. Now switch on the white light of the darkroom and fill the outline with black marker pen. Now our mask is ready. A print is made on a sheet of paper and once image begins to appear, remove the paper from the developer and place it on a flat table. This partially developed print is covered with the mask in as complete register as possible. The re- exposure to white light is given in this condition. To keep the paper and mask in flat and in register you can place a glass sheet over them. This re-exposure to white light partially reverses all but that area under the “mask” and once development is completed you get a print in which the normally printed main subject is surrounded by a partially reversed one, providing surrealistic effect. The photographic paper is covered by a sheet of white paper so the second solarization exposure will be more than usual, so before giving the final exposure make a test solarized print to determine the solarizing exposure.

SHARING YOUR PHOTOS

2008-11-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

If an image is captured and no one but the Photographer sees it, has it really been enjoyed?" Clearly, a much less complicated question, it's answerable by simply stating, "Not nearly as much." The sharing of an image is, after all, the reason you capture it in the first place, isn't it?
Among the many wonders of the Internet is the fairly recent development of photo-sharing Web sites. These sites are set up as online communities where people can "drop off' their images for all of the world (or may be just for mom and dad) to see. What's really terrific about these photo-sharing sites is the scale of the transaction - people will pass their photos around as always, but now, instead of just in the living room or at the water cooler at the office, you can pass 'em around the world.
And think about the cost associated with the old methods of sharing images. Because you don't have to spend time searching through shoe boxes for negatives, stopping at the store, dropping off the order, stopping at the store again, picking up the order, returning the negative to its (junk drawer) file, buying envelopes, buying note paper, buying postage stamps, and going to the post office before getting on with life, the whole-cost pricing of each shared picture is greatly reduced.
There are a bunch of photo-sharing communities on the Internet, following sites that appear at the top of most lists are: SmugMug, Flickr, Picasa Web Albums, Photobucket
One real attractive aspect of most sites, is the fact they don't cost a Rupee.
Sharing with Adobe's www.activeshare.com
Photo-manipulation software giant Adobe has emerged in the Web photo-sharing game as well. With its setup, the user is asked to download the site's easy-to-use ActiveShare software. A nice feature of this Adobe software is the fact it does away with the sometimes cumbersome step of importing photos into the computer by providing the user a one-click process to getting images from a digital camera or scanner. Click on the appropriate icon and the images are downloaded instantly.
Once the images are on your desktop, ActiveShare provides some very basic photo-editing capabilities along with some intuitive image organization and electronic photo album features. A real nice touch is the option to preview your work after completion. A terrific built-in search engine allows users to search for images currently residing on their hard drive that might be last-minute additions to their newly created electronic album. (Many of the Adobe photo album templates are more attractive than most of the sharing sites we've visited.)
The software automatically communicates with the site and your images are ready to roll. With one click, your images are automatically uploaded to the eCircles portion of the ActiveShare Web site.
The main emphasis with ActiveShare.com is clearly family. The site isn't set up for photo sharing between strangers, as many of the other sites are. Adobe is pushing photo sharing between family and friends as its eCircles section encourages family members to gather and share comments on the posted images. Bold graphics and brief, breezy text guide members through the steps needed to complete the process. Once you're finished adding any last minute captions or enhancements, it's time to alert the gang that your album is ready for sharing. The eCircles e-mail setup allows you to send out the entire album right from the site or have your recipients come visit your Circle at the ActiveShare site.
Flickr

Flickr was originally conceived in 2002 as a video game-screenshot sharing web site, but it quickly blossomed into a full-fledged photo sharing site with a bustling community. The now Yahoo-owned site offers free accounts with limitations placed on photo uploads and other features, while the $25/year Pro account promises unlimited uploads, storage, and sets. Flickr, like many of the others, also recently added video sharing to their repertoire.
Picasa Web Albums
Picasa Web Albums are the online counterpart to Google's popular, Windows- and Linux-only desktop photo organization software, Picasa. Despite its late entry to the photo sharing game in mid-2006, Picasa Web Album's seamless integration with Picasa and Google accounts quickly gained the service a large following. A free account with Picasa Web Albums gives you 1GB of free storage space, and you can buy extra storage that's shared with your Gmail account for anywhere between $20/year for 10GB to $500/year for 400GB.
SmugMug
SmugMug is a premium photo sharing web site with an emphasis on professional photography. That's not to say that the site's not also perfect for the weekend photographer, as its attractive and user-friendly interface is tempting for any level of photog. The biggest hurdle for new SmugMug users is that the site has no free account (though there is a 14-day free trial), and the minimum price for an account is $40/year. However, SmugMug users—many of whom are former Flickr die-hards (there's even an import tool called Smugglr

)—seem very pleased with their choice.

Each one of the sites is fun and ease of use. There's really no reason not to start sharing your digitized masterpieces today

QUOTES FROM THE MASTERS

2008-11-18T19:54:00.000-08:00

Welcome, fellow photographers from around the world. I have collected quotations that I hope will help promote the art of photography. I have tried to accurately credit all writers for the quotations I have used. If anyone can offer corrections or additional information, it will be appreciated. If any source objects to being quoted here or if I have strayed into any copyrighted materials, my sincere apology - please advise me and, if you wish, your quotation will be removed.
Your help is needed to make this an interesting site.I intend to update this site regularly, so please check back from time to time. Thanks for your visit, and enjoy…………..Rajendra

Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art.

~Ambrose Bierce
I shutter to think how many people are underexposed and lacking depth in this field."
Rick Steves, travel guide and author
All I can do in my writing is to stimulate a certain amount of thought, clarify some technical facts and date my work. But when I preach sharpness, brilliancy, scale, etc., I am just mouthing words, because no words can really describe those terms and qualities it takes the actual print to say, "here it is." -
Ansel Adams

"People think that all cameramen do is point the camera at things, but it's a heck of a lot more complicated than that!"
-Larry in Groundhog Day
Just as a fisherman cannot catch fish unless his line is in the water, a wildlife photographer cannot shoot great wildlife images unless he or she is out there with camera in hand and the knowledge of what to do then the 'magnificent moment' occurs."
-George H. Harrison, in Magnificent Moments: The World's Greatest Wildlife Photographs
"Life is like a good black and white photograph, there's black, there's white, and lots of shades in between."
-Karl Heiner
"You press the button and we do the rest."
-Kodak advertisement
"You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it."
-Pentax advertisement
The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. You have to try and put your camera between the skin of a person and his shirt. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson
To take photographs means to recognize -- simultaneously and within a fraction of a second -- both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one's head, one's eye and one's heart on the same axis. –
Henri Cartier-Bresson
"Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop"

-Ansel Adams
There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.
~Ansel Adams

"A good photograph is knowing where to stand."
-Ansel Adams
"There is nothing worse than a brilliant image of a fuzzy concept."
-Ansel Adams
When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. ~Ansel Adams
Fear is a darkroom where negatives develop.
~Usman B. Asif
Buying a Nikon doesn't make you a photographer. It makes you a Nikon owner. ~Author unknown
"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer."-Ansel Adams
Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter.
~Ansel Adams
No place is boring, if you've had a good night's sleep and have a pocket full of unexposed film.
~Robert Adams, Darkroom & Creative Camera Techniques, May 1995
When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in B&W, you photograph their souls! ~Ted Grant
Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships.
~Ansel Adams
If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera.
~Lewis Hine
If you are not passionately devoted to an idea, you can make very pleasant pictures but they won't make you cry.
-Ruth Bernhard
There is no art which affords less opportunity to execute expression than photography. Everything is concentrated in a few seconds, when after perhaps an hours seeking, waiting, and hesitation, the photographer sees the realization of his inward vision, and in that moment he has one advantage over most arts - his medium is swift enough to record his momentary inspiration.
-Sadakichi Hartmann
The meaning of quality in photography's best pictures lies written in the language of vision. That language is learned by chance, not system.
-Walker Evans

DR. PANKAJ SHARMA, AIIPC, FFIP, IIPC Gold

2008-11-18T05:45:00.000-08:00

287-Biharipur Civil Lines, Bareilly-3, U.P. India
Ph: +91581-2556897 (R); +919412552607 (M)
e-mail: pankajbpcl@rediffmail.com

Pankaj Sharma (1969), a shutterbug with indomitable hankering for the art of photography, has astounding achievements in this field. An alumnus of the Department of Ancient History & Culture, M.J.P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, he has been awarded Doctor of Philosophy for his research in 1994.

A born artist, Dr. Sharma’s penchant for photography had developed at a very young age. Soon it became his passion after he acquired Diploma in Photography from the same University. Thereafter, exhibitions, participation in the National/International competitions, awards/certificates of merits, honours, judging of national/international salons of photography, lectures on photography and publications of photographic works, all were in pipelines in next few years. He has to his credit five solo, two joint and ten group exhibitions organised in different cities of India. Mention may be made to his official exhibition on “Glimpses of Rohilkhand” covering 100 photographs of important monuments and memorials of Rohilkhand. This collection has become a prized possession of the Panchala Museum of MJP Rohilkhand University and has earned wide acclamation for him.

His works have been regularly published in many reputed news papers, magazines, journals and periodicals, such as Times of India, India Today, Amar Ujala, Times Journal of Photography and Smart Photography. Amongst them publication in “Tiranga” by Flag Foundation of India, New Delhi, “Rohilkhand ki Loksanskriti” by Department of Culture, U.P. State Govt., Lucknow, “4000 years of Bareilly” by MJP Rohilkhand University are important.

He is amongst a few in India, who has been honoured with Associateship of India International Photographic Council, New Delhi and Fellowship of Federation of Indian Photography, Kolkata (both in pictorial section).

Be it the human life, animals, birds, a tiny flower or colossal monument, his subjects are wide and varied. Many of his works have portrayed the life beyond the gizmos—the poor, downtrodden and destitute. The ingenuity of his photography can be envisaged from the expressions, moods, colours, timings and centrality of the subjects. These experiments and experiences have elevated him to the chairs of juries in several photo contests and exhibitions.

He is member of ‘India International Photography Council’, New Delhi (presently a member of the Executive Committee), ‘Federation of Indian Photography’, Kolkata and ‘Photo Vision’, Bareilly (India).

MEMORY CARDS

2008-11-18T05:30:00.000-08:00

SD or MMC? Micro or Duo? When it comes to memory cards, it's easy to become confused seeing all of the different types and variations available. The following article will answer most of your questions you ever wanted to ask……………Rajendra

Digital camera memory is an essential and often overlooked piece of digital photography equipment .A memory card is a device offering an easy, fast and reliable way for storing and transferring digital files. Memory cards are the storage medium of choice for almost all of our digital media - everything from photos, music, movies, game saves and much more are being kept on these tiny devices. So knowing what type of memory card is right for you (and your particular devices) is becoming vitally important.
What is a memory card?
Memory cards are small devices (some no bigger than your thumbnail) that are used to store electronic data. Just like film is used to store photos and floppy disks are used to store information, memory cards can be used to store a wide variety of media. This can be anything (depending on the device) from photos, music, movies, games, documents, programs and more. And while cards come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are available for a variety of products, all memory cards do essentially the same thing -- store data.
Memory cards, also commonly known as flash memory cards, are essentially chips that allow users to write and rewrite data multiple times. Some of the key features of flash memory cards include their small size and the ability to retain data without a power supply. This allows them to fit into a variety of portable consumer devices.
Development of memory cards
Flash memory was invented by Dr. Fujio Masuoka while working for Toshiba circa 1980. According to Toshiba, the name "flash" was suggested by Dr. Masuoka's colleague, Mr. Shoji Ariizumi, because the erasure process of the memory contents reminded him of a flash of a camera. Dr. Masuoka presented the invention at the IEEE 1984 International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) held in San Francisco, California.
Intel saw the massive potential of the invention and introduced the first commercial NOR type flash chip in 1988.

The first memory card was introduced in 1990 by the name PCMCIA and latter on even called for PC Card and was mostly used by laptop computers
Thanks to the flash memory’s durability, reliability and low power consumption demand for memory cards grew rapidly. In 1994 the CompactFlash was introduced as a smaller alternative to the PCMCIA/PC Card, mostly to be used in digital cameras. In 1996 the SmartMedia Card was introduced as a competitive standard to CompactFlash also to be employed by digital cameras.The popularity of memory cards grow rapidly in the beginning of 2000, since usage of memory cards expanded to other consumer electronic products like camcorders, portable audio players, mobile phones etc. This created also the need for much smaller memory cards, therefore the first small form factor was the MultiMediaCard standard followed by the SD Memory Card and later on the Memory Stick. Since most portable devices were becoming smaller and the usage of memory cards in mobile phones were becoming more common some new smaller versions ware introduced. Those were the RS-MMC or MMCmobile, miniSD, and Memory Stick Duo.
What are the different types of memory cards available?There are six main types that you'll come across in the world of memory cards -- SD, MMC, Memory Stick, Compact Flash, xD Picture Card and SmartMedia.
Compact Flash Cards
CompactFlash is one of the most common types of digital camera memory. Most high-end digital cameras, and all digital SLRs are CompactFlash compatible.
There are two physical sizes of CompactFlash - Type I and Type II. Type II is thicker and some cameras will only accept Type I CompactFlash. Type II CompactFlash is usually higher capacity. The most common Type II CompactFlash cards are mechanical, MicroDrive, memory cards.
The main benefit of CompactFlash, besides availability, is that it has a controller chip in the card. The controller chip allows higher transfer rates. Most cameras can't take advantage of this extra speed, though. Only cameras with larger internal buffers - mostly digital SLRs - can take advantage of high-speed CompactFlash.
CompactFlash is inexpensive, easy to find, and works in a lot of digital cameras. For those reasons, it's one of the most desirable types of digital camera memory.
Smart Media Cards
Smart Media cards are typically 45mm x 37mm and weigh around 2 g. They are very thin at only 0.76 mm. They used to be popular in digital photography but they have now been superseded by other media cards. When they were first manufactured, they were styled as the successor to floppy disks. They are compatible with most devices and there are adaptors that enable their use with devices with which they're not directly compatible. However, Smart Media cards have limited storage capacities .

Secure Digital (SD) and Multimedia Cards (MMC)
Secure Digital cards and Multimedia cards look the same as both are around 32mm x 24mm. SD cards, however, are typically thicker and heavier at 2.1mm and 2g, respectively. However, there are now smaller and lighter SD cards popularly known as miniSD cards. SD cards also offer better security for they come with a data write protection switch. Multimedia cards do not have this security feature.
Memory Stick
Memory Sticks are so-named because they look like sticks of chewing gum. They come in a variety of sizes and were originally launched by Sony for use with the company's portable electronic devices and mobile phones. There is a Memory Stick Standard, the slimmer Memory Stick Duo, and the more advanced Memory Stick Pro. Commercially, Memory Sticks have a capacity of around 128 MB but Memory Sticks with 8-Gb capacity are already in the works. Their maximum storage capacity is pegged at 32 Gb.
xD Picture Cards
Introduced by Olympus and Fuji in 2002, the xD Picture card is the newest digital camera memory format. Its tiny size - 0.97" x 0.98" x 0.67" - means it can be used in very small cameras. The xD Picture Card can also be used in any CompactFlash compatible camera with the available CompactFlash adapter. It's currently available in many capacities.
Since it was developed and introduced by Olymous and Fuji, most current compact digital cameras from those manufacturers use the xD Picture Card media.
MicroDrive
The MicroDrive card is actually a miniature hard drive housed in a Type II CompactFlash chassis. The IBM MicroDrive was the first compact memory card to offer a full 1 Gigabyte storage capacity. MicroDrives have a reputation for being delicate and unreliable. They are more prone to failure since they have moving parts that can wear, or be damaged. But when handled normally and not abused, they are very reliable. Because of their moving parts, MicroDrives use more battery power than flash memory. And compared to new, high-speed CompactFlash cards, MicroDrive seek and write times are fairly slow.
Eye-Fi wireless memory card
Eye-Fi is a wireless memory card for digital cameras. Once you get it set up, you take a photo with your camera and it's automatically uploaded to your computer and to Flickr (or another photo sharing site of your choosing). The first thing you notice about the Eye-Fi is that it looks just like an ordinary 2-gig SD card...so tiny that when you use it for the first time, you almost can't help but examine your camera from all angles to make certain that there are no wires involved. It's magic. This card will make your ordinary digital camera into a wireless camera.
Can I use the same card on other devices?The simple answer is yes, but with some caveats.As long as your different devices take the same type of card, you should be able to freely use the same memory unit in those different devices. If, for example, your PDA, mobile phone and laptop all take SD cards, then you'll be able to use the same SD card to store data, take pictures or transfer information.
You may not be able to access or use your stored data from one device to another, however. Individual devices may use a specific file structure when recording information onto a memory card, or they may use specific file format types. If a device is unable to browse a memory card's directory or cannot read a specific type of file format, then it won't be able to display or utilise something stored using a different device. Songs stored as MP3 files on a card, for example, can't be played on a device that doesn't have MP3 support.
Speed of the card
The speed varies among different memory cards. While buying one for your electronic gadget or buying an electronic device that has them, the speed factor is very essential. The speed actually determines the rate of speed of capturing a picture and the speed of transferring it into the computer. Thus the speed of your device depends on the speed of the cards. The SQ flash memory card is one of the different cards that leave all the others behind in speed. A 1 GB SQ flash card would increase the reading speed to the 24 MB and the writing speed to 12 MB. It shows a wide gulf of difference in the speed of other Memory cards.

How safe is the data stored on memory cards?

When it comes to the safety of your data, memory cards have some key advantages over other storage devices such as hard disks or CDs/DVDs. Memory cards are much more shockproof than other storage mediums. Since there are no moving parts in a memory card, they're much less prone to the movement damage which can occur in a normal hard drive.
They're also much less fragile than a CD/DVD -- the case of a memory card can easily take a scratch or two, while scratches on the underside of a CD or DVD will most often result in data loss. Since memory cards are physically so small, perhaps the greatest risk of data loss lies with losing the entire card itself, rather than by some other accident.
How do I transfer data from my memory card to my PC?

Most portable devices come with cables to link directly to a PC or laptop, allowing you to transfer any images or data stored on your memory card. If you don't have your device or cable with you, however, there are other alternatives.
Most new PCs and laptops are now being sold with built-in card readers. These allow you to slide your card directly into the computer, from which you can access any data stored on the card.
There are also stand alone card readers you can purchase. These card readers can usually read more than one type of card, which is handy if you've got several devices with different memory units.
Does the Quality of photographs have any relation to storage media?
No, memory card only store data they does not determine the quality.

LANDSCAPE – ESSENTIALS TO REMEMBER

2008-11-17T18:01:00.000-08:00

If you ever get to shoot in some truly amazing outdoor locations, it's really a very humbling photographic experience. You set up your tripod, look in your viewfinder, and it happens you begin to silently sob. You're sobbing because you bought all this expensive camera gear, with multiple camera bodies and lenses that cost more than a Car, you've got more filters than a Camera store, and your camera bag weighs approximately 10 lbs. You saved all year, took your two-week vacation from work, bought round-trip airfare, now you're looking through your viewfinder and what you see doesn't look half as good as the postcards in the park's gift shop that sell for Rs 2 each. Tears begin to stream down your face as you realize that you're not going to get the shot you came for. And whose fault is all this? Even though we're not Ansel Adam, we can surely get better photos than the ones in the gift shop, right?
The Golden Rule of Landscape Photography
There's a golden rule of landscape photography, and you can follow every tip in this chapter, but without strictly following this rule, you'll never get the results the top pros do. As a landscape photographer, you can only shoot two times a day: (1) dawn. You can shoot about 15 to 30 minutes before sunrise, and then from 30 minutes to an hour (depending on how harsh the light becomes) afterward. The only other time you can shoot is: (2) dusk. You can shoot from 15 to 30 minutes before sunset, and up to 30 minutes afterward. Why only these two times? Because that's the rule. Okay, there's more to it than that. These are the only times of day when you get the soft, warm light and soft shadows that give professional quality lighting for landscapes. The point is, professional landscape photographers shoot at those two times of day, and only those two times. If you want pro results, those are the only times you'll be shooting, too.
Now read the following short but to the point article from Sri Suman Srivastava AIIPC and know the essentials of Landscape photography………Rajendra Prasad ARPS

LANDSCAPE – ESSENTIALS TO REMEMBER

By Sri Suman Srivastava AIIPC

There is a general misnomer that a photograph of a sea, river & mountains do not constitute a Landscape. However, the fact remains that a Landscape picture constitutes of either land (obviously), sea, river, mountain/hills, or combination of any of these but without a distinct presence of human figure in it. But if a very non-distinct human figure or a structure (like hut/boats etc) adds to overall view of the picture, it is permitted. An ideal Landscape picture essentially has to have a centre- point (we refer it as the subject) any where in the format but not in the dead centre of the format- that is against the grammar of composition. However, it is said that some time you must break the rule/grammar if you genuinely justify it.
A Landscape may include clouds in its composition but alone ‘Cloud’ can not constitute a Landscape picture.
Essential Components:
1. Lens:
Lenses having focal lengths ranging from 18 mm to 200 mm (in stray cases even 300 mm).Preferred photo taking apertures should be from f 8 to f 16 if you are using lens having focal length 70 mm and above. If it is less than 70 mm you can use even f 5.6, if there is a compulsion. One should in all probability avoid extreme f numbers for they lead to certain kinds of error (viz., Achromatic Aberration & Diffraction) and ultimately reflect in the picture in form of reduced sharpness and resolution.
2. Film:
However, in all kind of photography slow speed films are preferred but if it comes to Landscape then ISO 100 (if less than ISO 100 possible better) or utmost ISO 200 are preferred choice. For they provide better tonal range & sharpness.
3. Exposure:
Exposure affects the rendering both of detail and of atmosphere. Under or over exposure always tend to give frustrating results.
Over-exposure will ruin the quality and detail of the highlights, Under-exposure will lose us the detail in shadows. But there are occasions when it becomes essential to decide whether to expose mainly for the highlight areas or the shadows.
If you are taking pictures on negatives take exposure of low key (shadow) area or in case if you are shooting on a chrome films then exposure of high key area will give you saturated and a good color balance. (This rule of exposure is universal). The ideal exposure for a landscape can be read through a ‘Grey-Card’.
4. Filters:
Since, we are discussing in light of color pictures only – let us confine it to the ‘filters’ that facilitate us in recording a good color Landscape.
First & foremost is a Polarizer- this helps in recording the sky portion of the Landscape with its full characters and while shooting snow in sun, helps in polarizing excessive sun rays and thereby ensures balanced tonal gradations. Avoid this filter when you desire the falling shadows of the trees/hills etc in the pond / river which are very much the part of your frame but to eliminate the shadows if so desired, use it. Conversion Filters- viz., Amber filter ( 81 A ) & Blue filter ( 80 B ) – While shooting very early in the morning or late in the after noon you get yellowish/reddish tone in your picture due to low Kelvin color temp., so as to balance that you have to use 80 B filter. And while shooting in the noon color temperature being in excess (Kelvin is the unit to denote color temp.) bluish tone/cast is there in the picture so as to balance that you have to use 81 A filter. Though, the color lab if instructed properly can remove the color cast while making print enlargement but you essentially have to use these filters while using Chrome films. Three more filters are required in Landscape photography viz., UV Filter (on high altitude) Graduated Filter & Neutral Density Filter. You may find many more filters in books but only unavoidable filters; I have taken up over here in light of Landscape photography.
However, for making landscapes in B&W – Yellow, Yellow-Green, Orange filters (just to name a few) are essential and can help in creating dramatic/incredible landscapes.
5. Tripod-
Tripod is another very important tool to get razor sharp images and does help significantly by allowing you to use desired f number in a situation where you cannot select desired or fast shutter speed.
6. The Right Lighting-
There is a famous saying that the finest of the Camera does not produce sparkling pictures in dull light and this is all the more true when it comes to shoot ‘Landscape’. Lighting as you know is the most important component in p’graphy. For a lively Landscape with a universal appeal, eminent photographers do wait hrs/days together for appropriate lighting condition. No compromise what- so-ever it may be is recommended. Light, mood & theme are the important constituents of pictorial photography.
1. From the front – Flat sunshine from behind the camera is rarely effective for the shadows are hidden from the view and the result is flat. This kind of lighting can, however, be very suitable for landscapes that are mainly cloudscapes – mostly sky with possibly only a strip of earth.
2. From the side – A more favourable position for the sun is to the side of the subject, a little to the front. This gives good relief. If the sun is quite low, render long decorative shadows.
3. Sunsets – The most photographically appealing effects are obtained when the sun is not too low and is concealed by a heavy and interestingly shaped cloud. But do not under-expose or thing will become too black at a time over dramatic.
4. Fog, - Fog produces very pleasing effects for the camera, for color is almost eliminated. It is best to work in to the light so that the dim shapes are silhouetted against the soft glow. It is also important to have some well defined objects in the near foreground to give perspective.
A light morning mist, with the sun almost breaking through is particularly suitable for woodland pictures.
And there could be many more lighting conditions.
And lastly, do not forget that the camera is mobile-and hence, lighting can always be changed by a change of viewpoint and so the Composition-that is so very vital. Landscape can be framed horizontally as well as vertically both but ensure that the horizon line is straight – no excuse. And it should not be in the middle of the frame i.e., horizon line should not divide the frame in two equal parts; it should be on the either side of the frame.

For those who resort to digital medium/photography for LANDSCAPE, they should too follow the universal rules enumerated above like while taking landscapes they should preferably fix the ISO at 100/200. As regard to filter is concerned they should essentially use Polarizer especially if they include sky in their Landscape picture. And for making B&W landscapes, they can resort to Photoshop – there they would find many filters too including warm filter i.e. 81 A or in case, if the camera permits to shoot in B&W they can do so and can use recommended B&W filters.

DIGITAL MEMORIES SURVIVES EXTREMES

2008-11-16T04:40:00.000-08:00

Holiday-makers capturing precious memories on digital cameras need not worry about losing their snaps.
The memory cards in most cameras are virtually indestructible, found Digital Camera Shopper magazine.
Five memory card formats survived being boiled, trampled, washed and dunked in coffee or cola.
Digital cameras are becoming commonplace, with 12.5 million sold in the US last year, compared with 12.1 million film cameras.
In the UK, 18% of the population have digital cameras.
Survival of the fittest
Five memory cards for digital cameras were subjected to a range of tests.
The formats were CompactFlash, Secure Digital, xD, Memory Stick and Smartmedia.

We knew modern memory cards were durable, but had no idea they would be quite so tough
Geoff Harris, Digital Camera Shopper Even some of the thinner cards that appear to be fragile fared well in the trial.
They were dipped into cola, put through a washing machine, dunked in coffee, trampled by a skateboard, run over by a child's toy car and given to a six-year-old boy to destroy.
Perhaps surprisingly, all the cards survived these six tests.
Most of them did fail to get through two additional tests - being smashed by a sledgehammer and being nailed to a tree.
Even then, data experts Ontrack Data Recovery were able to retrieve photos from the xD and Smartmedia cards.
Tough little things
"We've tested the durability of the leading memory card forms and have found that even if your camera doesn't remain intact, your precious memories should," said Geoff Harris, editor of Digital Camera Shopper.
"We knew modern memory cards were durable, but had no idea they would be quite so tough."

More and more people are buying digital camerasHowever he added that people should still make a back up copy of photos, to avoid accidentally deleting such prized memories.
The results of the test are bad news for photography processing services.
Photo printing retailers are seeing a drop off in traditional camera film processing.
Instead, they are pushing services that turn electronic images into prints. Around eight out of 10 digital pictures are thought to never make it into printed form at all.
In the US, tens of thousands of self-service kiosks have sprung up, where consumers can edit and make photos directly from a memory card.

Source:BBC News

ACCURATE EXPOSURE

2008-11-15T05:48:00.000-08:00

Photography is the art of manipulating light-precisely and delicately. Because even the slightest difference in exposure can make significant difference. Good photography is all about getting the right amount of light on the film. The aim of any photographer is to produce a perfect negative which can provide him a print having details both in shadows and highlights areas. An under- exposed photograph lacks detail in the areas corresponding to shadows on the other hand over-exposure causes the highlight to become flat and washed -out. Reversal materials have less latitude than negative films so for transparency there is only one correct exposure and deviation one stop higher or lower gives only acceptable results
LATITUDE
Latitude indicates the range of exposure over which a photographic emulsion yields an acceptable negative. Generally speaking faster the film and less the subject contrast the greater the latitude.. Very slow films and reversal material have practically no latitude . Modern high speed film on the other hand have an overall latitude of 8 stops for an average subject within which it will provide acceptable result. That is why Cheaper cameras having fixed aperture recommend high speed film so that they can take advantage of their greater latitude..
Photography is the art of manipulating light-precisely and delicately. Because even the slightest difference in exposure can make significant difference. Good photography is all about getting the right amount of light on the film. The aim of any photographer is to produce a perfect negative which can provide him a print having details both in shadows and highlights areas. An under- exposed photograph lacks detail in the areas corresponding to shadows on the other hand over-exposure causes the highlight to become flat and washed -out. Reversal materials have less latitude than negative films so for transparency there is only one correct exposure and deviation one stop higher or lower gives only acceptable results .
Calculation of proper exposure is always a nightmare for a amateur and sometimes confuses professionals too. In this article we are going to learn how can we always get a perfectly exposed negative/Transparency in every lighting situations .But before going in detail we will have first to know what is exposure analyze the factors which affect exposure
Exposure is the amount of light falling on the film. Exposure in the scientific sense is the product of the intensity of light and the time during which the light acts. Practically for a photographer it means the particular combination of lens aperture and shutter speed that must be chosen to produce a perfect negative because the size of aperture governs the amount of light falling upon the film and shutter speed controls the length of time during which the light affects the film. The aperture and shutter speed are set according to the light and the sensitivity of the film . The sensitivity of the film is known from its ASA speed and for a particular film is constant so let us know in brief about the two other variables Aperture and Shutter Speed.

APERTURE:
When light passes through a camera's lens, it must pass through an opening called an "Aperture". In plain English it's a hole that lets in more light when it's wide open and less when it's small. In essence the aperture is just like the pupil in the human eye. You can control the aperture by setting the "Aperture Opening", also known as an F-Stop.
Aperture is measured in f/stops as indicated in the series below:
1, 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45
These are actually fractions. They should actually be read as follows:
1/1, 1/1.4, 1/2, 1/2.8, 1/4, 1/5.6, 1/8, 1/11, 1/16, 1/22, 1/32, 1/45
Each progression represents half as much light (moving to the right) as the preceding number. But why do the numbers look so odd? These numbers actually represent the ratio of the focal length of the lens to the diameter of the lens diaphragm opening. That's why it's called an f(ocal)/number. The designation "f/4" means that the diameter of the aperture is 1/4 the focal length of the lens. The designation f/16 means that the diameter of the aperture is 1/16 of the focal length of the lens. f/2 on a 100 mm lens means that the diameter of the diaphragm opening is 100/2, or 50 mm. The reason we use the ratios instead of the actual surface area of the diaphragm opening is that the actual surface area would be quite different between lenses of different focal lengths. Photographers would have to memorize a series of numbers for each focal length lens they owned. Think about what you'd have to do with a zoom lens! Ratios allow us to use the same number series for all of our lenses irrespective of their focal length. f/2 on a 100 mm lens lets in exactly the same amount of light as f/2 on a 500 mm lens.
If we stop down or close the lens opening from one stop to the next higher number ,we cut in half the amount of light entering. By opening up one f-stop we double the amount of entering light .Thus f4 admits half as much light as f 2.8 twice as much as f5.6. We must remember one thing that smaller the number bigger the aperture because f no is a fraction.
SHUTTER:
Shutter is a mechanical device used to expose the film to light for an exact period of time. The faster the shutter speed the smaller the amount of light gets in. Shutter speed indicates how long the camera shutter remains open to let light onto the film. The number series for shutter speed is:
15, 8, 4, 2, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000
These numbers are whole seconds or fractions of seconds. They aren't expressed on your shutter speed dial as fractions to save space, so they should read as below:
15, 8, 4, 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000, 1/8000
Again, each number moving to the right is half the value of the preceding number, and represents half as much light as the preceding number.
THE CALCULATION OF EXPOSURE:
As we have already learned that the exposure is controlled by the proper use of Aperture and Shutter Speed combination but when to use which combination ?By referring to the exposure table printed on the instruction leaflet provided with the film , we may find out that in certain lighting condition the film requires an exposure, say, 1/125 seconds at f8. We can adjust the camera to this setting and take a correctly exposed transparency.
The light level encountered in photography vary enormously, from bright tropical sunshine to weak moon light .If the exposure is to be sufficiently accurate some means of accurate measuring of this light level is required. The human eye can detect quite small changes in the level of light at the moment they occur similarly in photography for accurate quantitative assessment of light Photo Electrical Cells are used, and these virtually form the basis of all exposure meters. With an exposure meter, you can venture into a wide variety of lighting conditions and be confident that you would consistently get good results. Their objective of a exposure meter is to take the guesswork out from taking Photograph.
WHAT IS AN EXPOSURE METER?
Simply saying exposure meter is an electronic device, which measures brightness level of light. All exposure meters measure light and, therefore ,contain an photo cell .The older exposure meters used selenium cell, which required no battery to operate. But the Selenium meters are not very light sensitive so Later on, Cadmium Sulphide (CDS) Photo resistive Cells became popular. These cells use batteries and have good sensitivity at low light levels, but these cells have a demerit that these suffer from "memory Effect" i.e. these tends to remember past bright readings for a little longer time than necessary and give wrong reading in fast shooting so now, modern camera and in handheld meters CDS cells have been replaced by silicon or gallium Photo Diodes. They diodes are very sensitive and responsive. Some of them are too sensitive to infrared and ultra violet, which is not used for normal photography so a blue filter is put on the photo diodes to compensate their red sensitivity. These diodes does not suffer from memory retention characteristic too. Exposure meters can be classified as two types:
A) INCIDENT LIGHT METERS
B) REFLECTED LIGHT METERS
INCIDENT LIGHT METERS :
It is also popularly known as Ambient Light Meter. This type of meter is very popular among Portrait Photographers and cinematographers. It measures the brightness of the source light falling on the subject.. Incident meter reading is taken from the subject position by pointing the exposure meter sensor towards the camera lens. This is because Incident meter measures the light falling on the subject coming from the direction of the camera. Incident meters are inherently more fool proof as it measures the intensity of light falling on the subject. So the subject color and brightness did not influence it. An Incident meter sensor is covered by a white translucent hemisphere, which acts as the proxy subject. The ambient light falls on the hemisphere from all angles up to 180 degree. So the meter accounts for most of the frontal lighting. The sensor measures the brightness of the illuminated hemisphere from inside and computes the incident light reading from it.
REFLECTED LIGHT METERS
This type of meter is found in all cameras having built in light meter. A reflected light meter takes the reading from the camera position pointing the exposure meter sensor towards the subject. This is the most common method of exposure evaluation. The cell of the meter is pointed towards the subject from roughly the same direction as the camera, and a reading is taken of the light reflected from the subject .All reflected type exposure meters are calibrated with one presumption that all subjects are medium gray in color. In logarithmic scale[]of brightness the middle point between pure black and white is 18% gray (approximately). Such reading works fine as long as the subjects are all near middle gray in brightness like green grass or human skin. Problem occurs when we try to photograph brighter or darker subjects. The reflected type exposure meter computes a reading by considering the subject as middle gray, which renders the brighter or darker subjects as middle gray.
BUILT-IN EXPOSURE METER
Almost all 35 mm camera and many medium format cameras are equipped with a reflective meter. In many modern cameras you may find more than one type of metering system to handle different type of lighting situation effectively you may switch between different metering systems.
CENTER WEIGHTED EXPOSURE METER
This type of meter sensor measures brightness from a wide area of the frame with an emphasis at the central part of the frame. Generally Camera bodies employ 75/25 ratio center weighted meter. Such a meter provides 75% weight to the brightness of the center of the frame and 25% weight to the rest part of the frame. Such design has evolved on the assumption that the key attraction of the frame is most likely to be placed at the center of the screen. The reading from a center weighted meter will be more accurate for the object at the center of the frame than an off center object.
MATRIX OR SEGMENTED METER
A single sensor cannot provide good reflective reading for a complex lighting situation. In a matrix meter, a number of sensors samples brightness from various areas of the frame and then the camera microprocessor compares the results with many of pre-fed exposure scenarios to provide a result, which is more accurate in most of the tricky light and backlit situation. Different manufactures call their Multi Pattern metering system by different names but they perform the same job. Every manufacturer has its own sophisticated algorithm, which may also take account of focus data, contrast between various sensor and analyze them with fuzzy logic algorithm so that it can analyze any lighting condition- as close as possible to the way the photographer sees. Canon named this mode of metering as Evaluative metering. Nikon calls it 3D colour Matrix metering it also analyses the scene colour Minolta uses a 14 segment honeycomb metering system, Pentax call its system 8 segment multi pattern metering. Olympus has a long name Digital Electro-Selective Pattern or Digital ESP metering and so on. This is the most sophisticated reflective metering available today to tackle most of the average and some tricky lighting situation. For photojournalists and sports photographer, where the photographer does not have time to think about exposure, it is the best exposure meter.
SPOT METER
There are times when you want more control of metering .The Spot meter measures brightness only from a tiny spot marked on the viewfinder. It does not care about the rest part of the scene. This is the meter of choice of most professional photographer. It provides the photographer to selectively sample the most important part of the scene and determine the correct exposure. This is undoubtedly the most powerful reflected meter mode for any knowledgeable photographer. The system usually employs a single cell positioned so that it takes a reading from only a small sharply defined area in the center of the focusing screen.. the screen is usually marked in some way to indicate the user the precise measuring area. Unfortunately not all consumer cameras provide this mode. Do check you camera manual to find out if your camera has this mode.
WHY YOUR LIGHT METER LIES TO YOU
Light meters can be less accurate than you might imagine. Their response to various colors of light may not match that of your film. Their response in low light and high light conditions may not match response at the mid-range of light. But the worst characteristic, for practical purposes, is that most of the reflected light meters make one basic (erroneous) assumption. They are calibrated to render an exposure that will make the subject look like a middle tone in the resulting photograph. So you must make exposure compensation when you photograph a light or dark toned subject than average. Use a meter reading as a guideline rather than a dictate for correct exposure. This makes it important that you understand how your particular meter works so you can consistently get good results no matter what is the lighting. The place to begin this understanding is the instruction manual that came with your meter or camera. The instructions should familiarize you with the meter's specific features, its flexibility, and its limitations. Most camera and exposure meter instructions provide the basic techniques of light measurement and mention some of the situations that may "fool" the meter.
HOW TO COMPENSATION EXPOSURE
Using the exposure compensation dial on your camera is useful when the area that you are metering off, is consistently darker or lighter than "average". How do you compensate for the fact that your meter is lying? You have to lie to your meter. If you are photographing a light toned subject, such as snow or sand in bright light, you must convince your meter that it is looking at something even lighter than your subject, so that the meter's attempt to make it a middle tone will result in the right tone. The same is true for dark objects. You must tell your meter that the object is darker than it really is so that the meter's compensation will register the correct tone in the photograph.
You can get a correct exposure in a couple of ways. You can meter a middle-toned area in the same light as your subject and manually set your camera accordingly. You can lie to the camera outright by telling it that it is using film of an ISO rating different from what is actually in the camera. For instance, if you are using ISO 100 film and are photographing a light subject, you would tell the meter that you have ISO 50 film. If you are photographing a dark object, tell your meter that you have ISO 200 film in the camera. This method works well for cameras in automatic exposure modes. Be careful to change the ASA speed to its original position when you move to a middle toned subject.
Another way to get the right exposure from a lying meter is to ignore it. Switch from automatic to manual exposure and simply move to the next larger aperture or the next slower shutter speed (for a light object) or to the next smaller aperture or faster shutter speed (for a dark object).
You can also use the exposure compensation dial of your camera for this if your camera have it.
HOW TO CHECK YOUR EXPOSURE METER AND CAMERA
If your results are consistently too light or too dark, your meter may be providing erroneous readings because of age, extensive use, or malfunction. The first thing to suspect, when a meter fails or readings become erratic, is the battery. you should replace batteries at least once a year. Cold weather is particularly hard on batteries, so if you're shooting in winter, carry backup batteries in a warm inside pocket where they'll retain their charge. If new batteries don't cure the problem, have your camera or meter checked by a professional repair technician or by the manufacturer.
HOW TO CHECK YOUR METER YOURSELF
To check the accuracy of your meter, you can compare its readings with a guide such as the daylight exposure table found inside a film carton. On a sunny day, aim your camera meter at front lighted, average subject. The exposure indicated by the meter should match the film carton recommendation within a 1/2 stop. For example, the suggested exposure for 100 ASA Film is 1/125 at f/16 or an equivalent shutter-aperture combination. It is also called f/16 rule or rule of thumb. If your meter indicates another setting, it may need repair or adjustment. If your meter indicates the correct exposure but your pictures are still too light or too dark, then your camera's shutter or lens aperture may be at fault.
METERING TECHNIQUES WITH REFLECTED LIGHT METERS
The various techniques describe below is applicable for any reflective meter including your in-camera exposure meter. In difficult light situation you should try any one of these for getting correct exposure
GREY CARD TECHNIQUE
This technique effectively turns any reflective meter (including your Camera in-build meter) into an Incident meter. It is used to determine very accurate exposure for a highkey, lowkey or high contrast subjects. For this technique, you will need a gray card. You may buy them from your local photo store. They come in different sizes and materials. Any one will serve the purpose. The technique of taking a Gray Card reading is as follows:
Set your camera into manual mode.
Place the gray card in front of your subject. If your subject is a human model, you can request him or her to hold it at chest height.
If the subject is side lit, then tilt the card to catch the sidelight.
Zoom it or walk to fill your camera frame only with the gray area of the card. Take care not to project your shadow on the gray card.
Meter the gray card
Remove the card, recompose and use the exposure reading to take the photograph.
The concept of gray card reading is simple; we are replacing our subject with a middle gray card, which has the reflectance as expected by any in-camera meter. The reading will be most accurate and independent of the subject and background, just like as an Incident Light meter.
READING FROM THE BACK OF YOUR PALM
If your gray card is not handy while shooting, you can use your own palm.. It is lighter than medium gray, so take the reading from your palm and then open up +1 stop (experiment to find your own setting). This will be your palm reading exposure. The colour of palm is generally constant but for a lighter or darker palm compensate accordingly.
SPOT METERING TECHNIQUE
The key rules in spot metering are:
1. Determine the most important part of the composition.
2. Try to identify the medium gray area of that important part and take a spot reading from there.
You first need to train your eyes to identify medium gray reflectance in the scene. Few tips in this regard may help beginners to get started in spot metering.
For portraits, the reading should be taken from medium lighted skin areas.
For Landscape, look for medium lit green pasture and meter from the grass.
For snow or sand, a gray card technique will provide better result. Even then, bracket your exposure half stop on either side.
Typical under-exposed Scenes

Exposure correction direction
Contra-light or back light situations
Plus (+)
Dominant white or yellow areas /White background
Snow/Beach scenes /Water

Typical -over-exposed Scenes
Exposure correction direction
Scenes with dark green like a forest
Minus(-)
Dominant shadows
Dominant dark objects/ Dark Background/Sunset or Sunrise/Night scenes

EXPOSURE BRACKETING
Technique of ensuring optimum exposure by taking several identical pictures of the same subject at slightly different exposure setting is called bracketing. Bracketing is used in tricky, non average lighting situations. Sometimes exposure correction is pretty easy but setting the right amount is often difficult. Just take a example of a simple sunset - finding the exact setting requires some experience here and even then you may like to take some additional pictures with different exposures just to see which exposure shows the best mood. This can be done manually or a bit faster and more conveniently via auto exposure bracketing by the camera. "ABC" (Auto Bracketing Control), "AEB" (Auto Exposure Bracketing) is featured by many mid and upper class cameras. Usually you just need to activate this feature and set a certain shutter speed/aperture combination and your camera will automatically take 3 to 5 pictures with defined exposure variations.

FRENCH PHOTOGRAPHER NICHOLAS CHORIER

2008-11-15T05:07:00.000-08:00

His photographs are the gods’ eye-view. French photographer Nicholas Chorier is, probably, the only professional kite photographer in the world. Two hundred of his best photographs have been compiled into “Kite Eye View India between Eart h and Sky”, published by Roli books. An exhibition of his work was recently held at Alliance Francaise.

Aerial photography is forbidden in India without prior permission from an assortment of government agencies‚ something Nicolas Chorier didn't have. However, the enterprising Frenchman wasn't prepared to let this technicality stand in his way. By combining a camera and a kite to ingenious effect, the 45-year-old recorded the landscape, people, animals and the architecture of this stunning country, and all without falling foul of the law. Chorier is a 'kite photographer'. No, he doesn't fly up with the kite to take photographs. He uses the kite to lift the camera while monitoring the visuals on a screen .To achieve his bird's-eye view, Nicolas attached a remote-controlled camera to a cradle suspended by string from the kite. The rig is operated by remote control that can achieve a full 360 degree rotation and 90 degree tilt. A ground-to-air video link sends a signal, which provides real-time monitoring on a portable TV screen for accurate framing and composition. This is one of the best coffee Table books on India I have ever seen.

The book contains a spectacular kaleidoscope of aerial photography from across the varied terrain of India - the deserts of Rajasthan to the beaches of Kerala, the Taj Mahal in Agra to the temples of Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu. He is the only person in the world who is doing this work on a professional basis.

Chorier makes his kites on the lines of the Japanese hexagonal Rokkaku kites, He hangs the camera on the thread and then fly the kite. A screen on the ground lets him to see the vision from the camera - the kite's eye view.'He uses both digital - a Canon 5-D - and analogue - a medium format Fuji - cameras for his work.Chorier has shot extensively all over the world, in places as diverse as Brazil, Malaysia, Laos and Uzbekistan besides India.

A very good book indeed ,recommended for viewing...Rajendra

INDIAN MOON PROBE PICTURES EARTH

2008-11-14T06:41:00.000-08:00

India's Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft has sent back its first images.
The probe was launched on 22 October to embark on a two-year mission to explore the Moon.
Ground controllers in Bangalore instructed the probe to take pictures with its Terrain Mapping Camera as the spacecraft made a pass of the Earth.
Chandrayaan also fired its engines for three minutes to carry out an orbit raising manoeuvre which takes the probe closer to the lunar body.
That was the fourth manoeuvre of its type made by the spacecraft, extending its orbit to more than half the distance to the Moon.
Just one more like it is required to take Chandrayaan into the Moon's vicinity, at a distance of 384,000km from Earth.
Keeping up
The first images, taken at an altitude of 9,000km, show the northern coast of Australia while others, snapped at a height of 70,000km, show Australia's southern coast.

The camera takes black and white images at a resolution of 5m
The Terrain Mapping Camera is one of the eleven scientific instruments aboard Chandrayaan 1. The camera takes black and white pictures, and should achieve a best resolution on its mission of about 5m per pixel.
Once Chandrayaan reaches the Moon, it will slip into orbit to compile a 3D atlas of the lunar surface and map the distribution of elements and minerals.
The mission is regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other spacefaring nations in Asia.
The health of Chandrayaan 1 is being continuously monitored from the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bangalore with support from Indian Deep Space Network antennas at Byalalu.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) - the country's space agency - says that all systems have been performing well.

Source http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7707099.stm

MICRO FOUR THIRDS CAMERA

2008-11-14T06:06:00.000-08:00

If you ask me which is the most exiting camera related news of the year, I will unhesitatingly say that it is Micro Four Thirds system. I know most of you might not heard about this because the system has just been announced in August 2008. So for your information I am giving below a brief description of Micro Four Thirds system .But before going in details first discuss about Four Thirds system ……………………Rajendra

Four-Thirds is a photographic system, similar in concept to Olumpus OM System for film photography. The name 'Four-Thirds' derives from the size and format of the image sensor used in the camera bodies. The system was developed by Olympus in partnership with Kodak and several other photographic companies have also signed up to it to produce lenses, cameras and accessories to the same standard. These companies include Panasionic, Sigma, Fuji and Leica

Unlike 35 mm film /Digital Cameras the Four-Thirds system uses a ratio of 4:3 for its image sensor — 35mm film has a ratio of 3:2 (whereby the long edge of the rectangular sensor is either 4/3rds or 3/2 the length of the shorter side). The actual size of the 4/3 sensor — specified by Olympus, and a design constant in the 4/3rds system white paper — is 18mm × 13.5mm, with an imaging area of 17.3mm × 13.0mm. This gives the image a diagonal length of 21.6mm; the smallest of the common APS-C sensors used has a diagonal of 24.88mm with dimensions of 20.7mm × 13.8 mm. The diagonal length of the 4/3rds sensor is roughly half that of a 35mm film negative.

Micro Four-Thirds
The Micro Four Thirds system uses the same sensor size (18 x 13.5 mm) of Four -Thirds but allows slimmer cameras by removing the mirror box and optical viewfinder.
Removing the mirror mechanism allows this shorter flange back distance, meaning lenses for the new mount can be considerably smaller than current Four Thirds designs. The format will require framing to be carried out using Live View on either the LCD monitor or an EVF.

Advantages and disadvantages of Micro Four-Thirds
Compared to existing compact cameras, which are equipped with non-interchangeable lenses and smaller image sensors, Micro Four Thirds is intended to offer a compact solution with interchangeable lenses and the larger sensor used by Four Thirds dSLRs. Micro Four Thirds cameras are smaller and lighter than Four Thirds and dSLRs, but larger and heavier than compacts.

Advantages of Micro Four Thirds over Four Thirds and dSLR cameras:
Smaller and lighter lenses. In particular the system, unlike Four Thirds, does not postulate telecentricity as a key design rule, so Micro Four Thirds lenses of the same Focal Length can be made significantly smaller and lighter than in Four Thirds system.

Advantages of Micro Four Thirds over compact cameras:
Choice of fast yet compact lenses.
Less digital Image Noise due to larger pixel area, extending the usable ISO speeds enabling cleaner shots in low-light conditions

Disadvantages of Micro Four Thirds compared to compact digital cameras:
· The larger sensor requires longer focal lengths and a wider image circle to achieve the
· Since the lens can be removed, there is an inherent risk of dust and other foreign particles finding their way onto the Image Sensor.

So you see that the Micro Four Thirds System enables users to enjoy the high image quality benefits of the Four Thirds System's 4/3-type image sensor in a much more compact camera body, and also take advantage of significantly more compact lenses, particularly in the wide-angle and high-power zoom range. The Four Thirds System offers compact, lightweight performance, and the new Micro Four Thirds System will take this even further by making it possible to develop ultra-compact interchangeable lens type digital camera systems unlike anything seen before. The new Micro Four Thirds System also incorporates a greater number of lens-mount electrical contacts, enabling support for new features and increased system functionality in the future. In addition, users will be able to mount their existing Four Thirds System lenses on Micro Four Thirds System bodies via an adapter.

Micro Four Thirds system companies
As of late 2008 only Olympus and Panasonic have a commitment to the Micro Four Thirds system.

Micro Four Thirds system cameras
The Panasonic Lumix DMC G1 is the first Micro Four Thirds System camera to be announced. The camera has an electronic viewfinder as well as a live-view LCD.

Olumpus has also announced a Micro Four Thirds System camera, but no specifics were available in late 2008.

WORLDS's SMALLEST HD CAMCORDER

2008-11-14T04:15:00.000-08:00

Pure Digital Introduces Flip MinoHD™ - the World's Smallest HD Camcorder

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The maker of Flip Video™ -- the best-selling family of affordable and simple-to-use digital camcorders -- today introduced its latest breakthrough product: the Flip MinoHD. The world's smallest high definition camcorder at just over three oz., this remarkably slim camcorder makes capturing and sharing HD video easy and affordable. The stylish Flip MinoHD from Pure Digital Technologies, priced at $229.99 (MSRP), records up to 60 minutes of HD video and features Flip Video's new FlipShare software, also announced today. This advanced on-board software platform allows consumers to plug the camcorder's signature flip-out USB arm into any computer for easy drag-and-drop video organizing, editing and sharing on YouTube, MySpace, AOL Video or via email.
This latest innovation from Pure Digital Technologies builds on the success of its wildly popular Flip Video camcorder line. Since its launch last year, Flip Video has sold over 1.5 million camcorders and currently has the number one best-selling camcorder in the U.S., according to the latest rankings from leading market research firm The NPD Group.

"Designable" Flip MinoHDPhoto provided by Pure Digital Technologies Inc.
"Consumers have embraced Flip Video because it delivers on the promise of making video simple, affordable, and fun," said Jonathan Kaplan, Pure Digital's chairperson and CEO. "Flip MinoHD, along with our new FlipShare software, now make it easy for anyone to capture and share their stories in stunning HD quality."
With its introduction, MinoHD also becomes the first and only "designable" HD camcorder. Using Flip Video's next-generation personalization platform, launched last month on TheFlip.com, consumers can choose from thousands of professional designs or custom-design their own Flip Mino or MinoHD at no extra cost. Additionally, consumers have the option to share their designs on TheFlip.com to earn commissions for themselves or non-profit causes.
Flip MinoHD Features and Availability:
Weight: 3.3 oz.
Resolution: HD 720p
4 GB of internal memory to record up to 60 minutes of HD video
1.5 inch anti-glare LCD display
Internal, lithium ion battery recharges when USB arm is connected to computer
One-touch recording with 2x digital zoom
Touch-sensitive buttons for recording, playback, fast forward, rewind, pause and delete
FlipShare software:
On-board application installs directly when connected to any PC or Mac
Drag-and-drop interface for easy browsing, playback, organizing and video archiving
Integrated online video publishing to YouTube, MySpace, and AOL Video
Free, unlimited private emailing of videos and video greeting cards
Custom movie editing, with the option to use your own music and add titles/credits
Capture still photos from any standard or high definition video
Order DVDs online and have them shipped anywhere in the world
TV connection for instant viewing (cable included)
Tripod Mount
Available in black at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, WalMart.com, TheFlip.com and leading retailers
"Designable" at TheFlip.com
Suggested retail price: $229.99
About Pure Digital Technologies, Inc.Based in San Francisco, Pure Digital Technologies is a pioneer in developing simple, affordable digital imaging solutions for the mass market. Its revolutionary Flip Video family of camcorders ignited a new category of video cameras that puts the power to shoot and share video into the pockets of everyday consumers. Flip Video camcorders are the world's first with on-board software to enable editing, organizing, and seamless video uploading to YouTube, MySpace, AOL Video and other video sharing sites. As part of its Flip Video Spotlight Program, the company pledged to deliver 1 million camcorders to help non-profits use the power of video to change the world. Flip Video is available in over 10,000 retail locations including Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Sears, Kmart, and TheFlip.com. Flip Video products are also available in Canada and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit http://http://www.theflip.com/.

THE IMAGE SENSOR

2008-11-13T06:48:00.000-08:00

Unlike traditional cameras that use film to store an image, digital cameras use a solid-state device called an image sensor. Image sensors are silicon chips that have numerous photosensitive areas (or photosites) constructed with photodiodes and arranged in arrays within the CCD or CMOS chip structures. The photosites are referred to as pixels. The pixels react to the light striking them, creating electrical charges proportional to the incident light; the more light, the higher the charge. The brightness recorded by each photosite is then stored as a set of numbers that can then be used to set the color and brightness of dots on the screen or ink on the printed page to reconstruct the image. Here we’ll look closely at this process because it’s the foundation of everything that follows.

Jorge Smith and Willad Boyal invented CCD in Bell Laboratory. In fact they were trying to invent a new kind of memory semiconductor but accidentally CCD was discovered. In 1970 first Digital camera based on CCD instead of film was made in Bell Labaratory

Image sensor chips-the chip that capture image fall in three main camps: CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) and Foveon

CCD (Charge-Coupled Device)
The most common type of sensor is the CCD (charge-coupled device). With a CCD, light is captured with individual photo-diode sensors. The photons that strike the sensor are converted to an equal number of electrons stored at individual sensor positions. Those electrons are then read electronically and stepped off of the charge transfer register. Once off of the CCD array, they are converted to their relative digital value. CCDs require a specialized chip construction process. Rather than having all the electronics on one chip, a separate chip set is required to handle support functions. There has been some progress made in integrating other electronics functions into the CCD, but for the most part CCD digital cameras require a considerable amount of supporting electronics. Depending upon the camera design, sets of anywhere from three to eight chips are incorporated in the camera’s image capture and conversion process.
CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor)
There’s another type of sensor besides CCD that’s becoming popular in digital cameras, and that’s the CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensor. Over the last few years, CMOS sensors have become increasingly common. They are being used in medium and large format digital backs, in professional digital SLRs, as well as some consumer cameras. Both CMOS and CCD sensors are constructed from silicon. They have similar light sensitivity over the visible and near-IR spectrum. At the most basic level, both convert incident light into electronic charge by the same photo-conversion process. However, CMOS sensors can be made of the same silicon material as other computer chips. That means all the electronics can be incorporated onto one chip, reducing production costs, space requirements and power usage. With CMOS, it’s possible to produce entire digital cameras on a single chip. CMOS sensors also have individual picture elements, but, unlike a CCD, the conversion of the electronic signal to a digital value is completed within the individual photo sensor. That makes it possible to read-out the values of the individual sensors in a single step, rather than having to step the electronic signal off of the register, as is the case with CCDs.
The difference between CCD & CMOS can be tabulated as follows:
CCD sensors, as mentioned above, create high-quality, low-noise images. CMOS sensors, traditionally, are more susceptible to noise.
Because each pixel on a CMOS sensor has several transistors located next to it, the light sensitivity of a CMOS chip tends to be lower. Many of the photons hitting the chip hit the transistors instead of the photodiode.
CMOS traditionally consumes little power. Implementing a sensor in CMOS yields a low-power sensor.
CCDs use a process that consumes lots of power. CCDs consume as much as 100 times more power than an equivalent CMOS sensor.
CMOS chips can be fabricated on just about any standard silicon production line, so they tend to be extremely inexpensive compared to CCD sensors.
CCD sensors have been mass produced for a longer period of time, so they are more mature. They tend to have higher quality and more pixels.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., has announced an image sensor architecture that features advantages of both CCD and CMOS sensors called Maicovicon. Maicovicon consumes less power consumption than a charge couple device and exhibits higher quality image than a CMOS sensor.

NASA is also working on another type of sensor altogether. Under contract to the space agency, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is working on what’s being called an SOI (silicon on insulator) sensor. SOI sensors are extremely thin, just 1 micron, and could be applied to just about any flat surface.One of the companies on the cutting edge of CMOS development is Foveon, which developed the X3 sensor chip. In some respects, the X3 is revolutionary. It was the first full-color image sensor that captured red, green and blue light at each individual pixel position. Instead of using color filtration to capture RGB color values, the X3 is able to capture all three primary colors simultaneously. It can do that because it has three photo-detectors at every sensor location, making it possible to capture full color images, without having to use a color mosaic filter. CMOS sensors are able to do that without the complexity, and cost, of some CCD systems. Foveon was able to achieve the multi-color capture capabilities through the specific properties of silicon, which absorbs different light waves at different depths. Each X3 sensor consists of three photo-detectors located at different depths. Each detects the absorption of the red, green and blue light that has penetrated the silicon to that specific depth. Blue light is absorbed near the surface, green light is absorbed farther down and red light is absorbed even deeper. The individual photo-detectors convert the absorbed light into three signals. Those signals are converted to digital data, which is then optimized through software. According to the company, the X3 CMOS image capture and optimization process results in higher quality and sharper images, as well as better color. It also eliminates the color artifacts that can be a problem with CCD sensors.

FOVEON X3
NASA is also working on another type of sensor altogether. Under contract to the space agency, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is working on what’s being called an SOI (silicon on insulator) sensor. SOI sensors are extremely thin, just 1 micron, and could be applied to just about any flat surface.One of the companies on the cutting edge of CMOS development is Foveon, which developed the X3 sensor chip. In some respects, the X3 is revolutionary. It was the first full-color image sensor that captured red, green and blue light at each individual pixel position. Instead of using color filtration to capture RGB color values, the X3 is able to capture all three primary colors simultaneously. It can do that because it has three photo-detectors at every sensor location, making it possible to capture full color images, without having to use a color mosaic filter. CMOS sensors are able to do that without the complexity, and cost, of some CCD systems. Foveon was able to achieve the multi-color capture capabilities through the specific properties of silicon, which absorbs different light waves at different depths. Each X3 sensor consists of three photo-detectors located at different depths. Each detects the absorption of the red, green and blue light that has penetrated the silicon to that specific depth. Blue light is absorbed near the surface, green light is absorbed farther down and red light is absorbed even deeper. The individual photo-detectors convert the absorbed light into three signals. Those signals are converted to digital data, which is then optimized through software. According to the company, the X3 CMOS image capture and optimization process results in higher quality and sharper images, as well as better color. It also eliminates the color artifacts that can be a problem with CCD sensors.
HYBRID IMAGING TECHNOLOGY (HIT).
To further increase the quality of the images that these tiny CMOS-based cameras can capture, NASA is working on what’s called hybrid imaging technology (HIT). Theoretically, HIT merges the best of CCD and CMOS technology, in hopes of coming up with a new technology that’s better than either. Once implemented, the resulting technology should have higher resolution, better scalability and reduced power consumption.

COREL PAINT SHOP PRO PHOTO X2

2008-11-13T05:14:00.000-08:00

If you have a Few hundred rupees to invest and a burning desire for a terrific, easy-to-learn image-editing program, Corel's Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 will make you smile. Whether you're a novice or a professional, the program has lots to offer—from a Learning Center for beginners to an amazing photo-merging feature for advanced users. Packed with applications for downloading, viewing, sorting, and editing/processing images.......Rajendra
In the world of photo editing programs, Paint Shop Pro has always been the leading alternative to Adobe Photoshop, for those who are unable or unwilling to afford the hefty price of the market-leading product. Originally launched by Jasc Software in 1992 ,it has grown to become a powerful photo editing and organising suite with a wide range of powerful functions, many of which rival those of Photoshop. Jasc was taken over in 2004 by Corel Corporation, and the new owners have invested serious development and marketing resources into Paint Shop Pro, adding many new features and promoting the product to take advantage of the growing popularity of digital photography and home photo editing.
There are several features that are unique to Paint Shop Pro however, and which reflect its more consumer-oriented market. Version X2 adds new features including an Express Lab, Graphite workspace theme, HDR photo merge, new layer styles, visible watermarks, picture tubes and picture frames, black and white film conversion, new and improved makeover tools, and a new Crop to New Image feature. Let us see whether by the launch of X2 a digital photographer’s dream come true or not?
Express Lab
This new streamlined mode in Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 helps users quickly view and fix multiple photos in the same amount of time it used to take to edit just one. Common tools such as crop, rotate, red-eye removal, makeover /blemish removal, brightness, saturation, and other quick fix tools are available inside this interface
The Express Lab is a quick finish system allowing batch images to be edited in a much faster time. The folder of images needs to be loaded into the preview bar at the bottom of the page and then Express Lab can be found in View or as a small Icon above the preview pane. The images are loaded in individually and a smart photo fix editor is displayed on the right featuring Brightness, Shadows, Highlights and Saturation and a histogram to check the exposure. A Suggest settings box is also available with a reset button next to it if everything goes horribly wrong. More options are available below the main picture which include a Crop tool, Smart fix, Makeover tool, Clone and Red-eye reduction. The rest of the images are shown as thumbnails along the bottom of the page. Interestingly, the image has the EXIF data laid out in the bottom left for easy perusal.
Makeover Tools
Corel previously included a selection of “makeover tools” in earlier versions of Paint Shop Pro Photo, but X2 includes several new tools to make portrait editing quick and easy. In addition to the standard red-eye removal, blemish remover, toothbrush, and suntan tools, X2 adds “Thinify” which (as the name suggests) makes people look thinner and the “Eye Drop” tool which whitens the white part of your subject’s eyes.
HDR Photo Merge
If you hate over-exposed highlights or under-exposed shadows in your images then X2 comes to your rescue with the High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photo Merge tool. With this tool, users can combine two or more bracketed exposures in order to produce one perfect exposure. In other words, X2 takes the shadows from one image and combines with the highlights in another image to create one image with the best shadows and highlights
Layer Styles
You can now easily apply effects such as embossing, drop shadows, or even reflections that will automatically update whenever the underlying layer is edited.
Visible Watermarks
This useful feature allows you to “stamp” your images with a watermark of your choice. This is perfect for protecting your copyright when uploading images online
Auto-Preserve Originals
You’ll never lose your favorite photos by mistake again thanks to a feature that automatically preserves the original photos when you save an edited version … giving you a way to get the original image back in case you make a mistake during the editing process.
Selective Color Replacement
Now you can change the color of any object in a photo with just a few clicks of your mouse! If you ever wish to change the color of a flower (or of your wife’s dress) the color of your dreams is just a click away. Unlike similar editing tools in other programs, the selective color replacement tool in X2 preserves the shading and texture in the original image … so if you select a “normal” color then the new color looks perfectly real.
Perspective Correction
If you’ve ever taken a photo of a tall building from up close and noticed how the top of the building looks thinner than the bottom then you’ve probably wished there was a way to “straighten” those lines in the building. Well, X2 gives you a fast and simple tool to correct perspective in your images. Just click on the four corners in a photo that should be square, double click, and magically your buildings look the way they should. No other image editor does this type of correction so easily
DOF Control
One of the common problems with compact digital cameras is the lack of shallow depth of field (DOF). In other words, if you take a portrait of someone standing in front of a building with a compact digital camera then both the subject and the background will look sharp and in focus. In that case, the background is distracting and takes attention away from your subject. With a shallow DOF you can “blur” the background while leaving your subject in focus. X2 gives you the tool to draw attention to the main subject in your image by creating this simulated DOF effect.
Photo Aging Tools
A unique and easy-to-use feature in X2 is the ability to apply aging filters to your images and make them look like film images from decades long ago. The “Time Machine” feature gives you a choice of seven different historical periods to give your photos some creative effects. You can also customize the preset options to give your images a unique look ... such as combining saturated colors with a late 1800's style vignette.
Object Remover
Every photographer has taken at least one photo with one or more objects in the frame that you wish could be removed. Maybe it’s a “funny picture” that your cousin put behind your head in the last family portrait, or maybe it’s that annoying dog on the beach who ruined that wonderful photo of your wife and daughter playing in the sand. With the Object Remover tool in X2 you can quickly and easily remove unwanted objects and people from your photos.
One small warning with the Object Remover tool is that complex textures tend to confuse the tool. For example, if you want to remove something in the wavy sand on a beach then the Object Remover tool might not seamlessly replace the sand
Purple Fringe Remover
Another common problem with compact digital cameras (particularly ultra-zoom cameras) is chromatic aberration (also known as “purple fringe”) around high contrast areas in an image. With two quick clicks of your mouse you can instantly remove purple fringe from your images.
Infrared Film Simulator
Similar to the “Time Machine” feature that I mentioned previously, the Infrared Film effect in X2 simulates the ethereal effect of infrared photography by adding flare, film gain, and a unique black and white process to the image.
RAW Image Editing
One of the major additions to the Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo program in recent years is the ability to edit RAW image files. Unlike compressed image formats like JPEG, RAW images record more color, greater dynamic range (more shadow detail and more highlight detail), and allows you to easily change the white balance during post-processing in case you used the wrong white balance when you took the photo. X2 supports a wide range of RAW image formats including “unofficial” support of the Adobe DNG open standard RAW format.
Unfortunately, the RAW image editor built into X2 is not as functional as it could be. Corel currently only supports RAW image formats from a handful of cameras, and I also discovered during testing that not all DNG images could be opened by this application. Beyond this, X2 also lacked the functionality to change the white balance settings before opening the image. So, if you “need” to edit a variety of RAW images then X2 may not be the best program for you to use at this time.
Compatibility with Photoshop Plug-ins
An excellent feature in Corel's Paint Shop Pro Photo series that doesn't get much attention is compatibility with “most” Photoshop plug-ins and filters. Many creative plug-in filters such as those from Nik Software or Dft tools , are 100 percent compatible with X2 ... so you can use many of the same creative tools used in Adobe Photoshop. However, not all plug-ins are fully compatible with X2 ... and X2 cannot use Photoshop Actions or Scripts. Bottom line, check with the plug-in manufacturer to confirm X2 compatibility.
Crop to New image
The Crop to New image feature is a relatively simple idea and works by creating a new image when the original is cropped, so the new image can be deleted if it looks wrong.
The new features on the system are great and I was amazed at what some of them can do. The program is very good for photographers with large amounts of images to process as the Express Lab can churn them out fast like a photo processor and portrait photographers will find the new features impressive and useful as they will cut a lot of editing time down.
Some of the existing features like the skin smoothing are still very slow, however the program will warn you before starting that it needs a lot of memory. The performance of these features may be worth the wait, though.
Pros
Affordable, full-featured image editor
HDR Photo Merge is G-R-E-A-T!
Makeover tools are easy to use
Selective Color Replacement is amazing
Reasonably fast on new computers
Compatible with many Photoshop plug-ins and filters
VERY easy to use overall
Cons
Very limited RAW editing capability (almost useless for RAW)
Slower than it should be on older computers
Thinify tool is needs improvement

Included with your package is 3.25 hours of training from Lynda.com that is right on the disk. There is also a version of Corel Media One Plus for special download that will allow you to create multimedia shows with your images and music. There are also other extras such as picture frames, edges, patterns and textures that are available as well.
You can simulate film types or preset looks (from "glamour" to "vibrant foliage"), go sepia or infrared, or even send your photo backwards on a timeline (via the "time machine" tool) to make it look like it's from another era altogether. Especially if you commonly use pictures as illustrations or components of a scrapbook collage, the flexibility and the fun of Paint Shop Pro will appeal.
All in all Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 appears to be a very good product especially considering the low price. It has a lot of higher end capabilities and it is very easy to use, especially for new users. The new features show that this is a maturing product and should continue to improve.

ADDING WATERMARKS TO YOUR PHOTOGRAPH

2008-11-12T05:18:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,
Few days ago I got an e mail of my friend, he was going to send his photographs to me for publication but was anxious about the safety of his photographs from being taken and used without permission. I suggested him to watermark his photograph for protection. He requested me to give me guidelines about “How to watermark in Photoshop”. I guided him and the same is being published here for you. There are many ways to watermark the photograph, but this one is easier. This Photoshop tutorial will also give you some idea about Type Tool, Emboss filter & Layer blending mode. But do you know how to type the © Symbol ? This you will also learn in this tutorial. As usual your comments, suggestion and guidelines are always welcome. If you like you can send your tutorial or articles too for publication in this blog, after all this is your own blog……….Rajendra

One issue that concerns an increasing number of photographers is the possibility of image theft. With more and more photographers having their own web sites and displaying their work in online galleries this is an increasing problem. The trouble is we all know just how easy it is to copy and download the information and images that you can see online. In fact it couldn't be simpler. Right click, save picture and it's gone.

There is some good news. Online pictures need to be at a resolution of around 72 dots per inch. Much higher than this and you have issues with the amount of time it takes to download an image from a web server for a visitor to view it. Therefore your pictures are highly unlikely to be stolen from your website to be used in a magazine. The quality would fall a long way short of being acceptable. So is there anything that can be done to protect your online images? The answer is yes. Just stamp each image with your identification. The obvious advantage is that it is abundantly clear who owns the photograph. The downside is that it detracts a little from the image. In some cases it may also be possible to crop of clone the image and remove the copyright notice altogether.

To get started open an image that you want watermarked. I'll be using the image you see in below, if you like you may use the image below for practice –just right click and copy (but please don’t use it otherwise (just joking) :-

With your image opened in Photoshop, it's time to get started........

Click on the "Default Foreground and Background colors" icon to set the default black foreground and white background colors. The icon is near the bottom of the Toolbar, just below the foreground and background color swatches

TIP: You can use the keyboard shortcut to quickly set the default colors. To do so, simply hit the 'D' key

Select the Horizontal Type tool and set the Font Family, the Font Style and the Font Size. I used Times New Roman to Bold Italic 48 points for this example, but you can, and should play around to see what fits in best with the image(s) and the idea(s) that you're working on. Click anywhere inside your image and type in the text you want displayed as a watermark. I'll type in “copyright © Rajendra” for this image. You can get the copyright symbol by using ALT 0169 (that is, I held down the ALT key and typed 0169 on the number pad of my keyboard).

Now Choose Filter, Stylize, Emboss.

You'll get a warning about the type layer needing to be "rasterized" before you can proceed. Rasterizing the type layer means that it can no longer be edited. No matter, if need be, you can simply re-create the type layer. Click "OK" to proceed. As you can see in figure the Emboss effect leaves the text looking raised. It has also changed the type to a mid-gray color with light and darker edges giving the effect of embossing.

Now choose a layer-blending mode that will make the new text visible but not as though we had simply typed on the image. Instead what will happen is that the gray will disappear letting the image show through, but the lighter and darker edges will remain leaving a visible watermark on the image. To see what I mean, change the layer-blending mode to 'Overlay'. You can change the layer-blending mode from within the Layer palette. The pulldown menu to do so is located in the upper left corner of the Layers palette.

Below you can see my finished image. Notice that, though subtle, the watermark is visible and even readable.

UNLOCK THE HIDDEN POWERS OF YOUR CANON POINT & SHOOT

2008-11-10T05:49:00.000-08:00

The capabilities of an average Canon point and shoot camera are severely limited as compared to the technical specification of a Canon SLR. But do you know this fact that if you have a consumer grade point-and-shoot Canon digital camera, you’ve got hardware in hand that can support advanced features way beyond what shipped in the box? By using a quick and easy software you may be able to turn on all sorts of features usually reserved for more expensive SLRs. These advance features include live histograms, depth-of-field calculation, under and overexposure highlighting, high exposure brackets ,extremely long exposure, ultra-fast shutter speed, removal of video size limits and -- best of all -- shooting your pictures in RAW. The secret is CHDK, an enhanced, software replacement firmware which can be downloaded FREE of cost from http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK. Let's transform your point-and-shoot into a super camera just by adding a little special sauce to its firmware.
CHDK is a free firmware for Canon point and shoot digital cameras. It is supported by a large number of Canon cameras, and adds the above features to all of them, no matter their original limitations. The official list of supported Canon digital cameras can be found at the CHDK website address given above.
CHDK is an open-source project, with many authors working independently or in loose cooperation to add additional cameras and additional functionality. It can seem like there are an overwhelming number of versions and builds for various makes and models of Canon PowerShot Digic II and Digic III cameras scattered about the net.
What is CHDK?.
CHDK is a firmware enhancement that operates on a number of Canon cameras. CHDK gets loaded into your camera's memory upon boot up (either manually or automatically). It resides on the SD card, taking up around 320k of space. It provides additional functionality beyond that currently provided by the native camera firmware. The existing firmware stays intact, while the CHDK software is loaded on demand from an SD card.You decide how it is loaded (manually or automatically) and you can always easily remove it. CHDK does not replace the existing firmware on your Canon, so the process is completely reversible.
How does it work?
Try to understand the fact; it’s cost effective for Canon to have one processor serve its whole product line. The current processor is the DIGIC III. The previous processor was, not surprisingly, the DIGIC II. Almost all Canon cameras sold today have either the DIGIC II or III processor as their “brain (top of the line DSLRs may have two processors), with the DIGIC III phasing out the DIGIC II. These processors are pretty impressive chips and Canon “turns off” certain features on certain cameras depending where they stand in the product line. CHDK simply “turns them back on”. CHDK can not “make” the processor do anything it wasn’t designed to do. As for Example, on a standard Canon, the fastest shutter speed option offered is 1/1,600 second, but the hardware can handle much more than that -- up to 1/60,000 of a second. You have just to unlock (turn on) this feature and camera will work accordingly.
What Can CHDK Do For You?
Now that you're convinced that CHDK is easy to install and use, let's consider what makes it worth doing so.
Enhanced Image Capture: CHDK supports RAW format for pictures (in addition to JPEG), longer recording time and length for videos (up to 1 hour or 2GBs), and several new compression options.
Additional Information On-Screen: With CHDK, you can customize your on-screen display to your heart's content, including worthwhile information like remaining battery life, histogram, depth of focus, and more.
Additional Photographic Settings: CHDK takes many of the features already available on your camera and gives you way more options, including longer exposure times (up to 65 seconds), faster shutter speeds (1/25,000 sec or faster), automatic bracketing of your photos, and more.
Support for Small Programs/Scripts: CHDK can run small scripts that will allow your camera to perform a set of actions based on the conditions of the script. Tons of scripts are available, and they provide functionality like motion-sensing photography (which reportedly works for lightning strikes) and unlimited interval time-lapse photography.
Even better, CHDK is being actively developed, which means that new features are always on the horizon. There are actually several versions of CHDK in development, but the version called the Allbest build incorporates many of the best features available in other builds .
If you're eager to add these cool features to your cheap digital camera, follow the next instructions to install the firmware, and don't worry -- this is all non-destructive and highly unlikely to damage your camera. Nevertheless, if you are under warranty or are prone to accidents, proceed at your own risk.
What You'll Need for CHDK installation
Supported Canon Digital CameraMini USB cableSD cardCHDK DownloadA card Reader
How To Install
Step 1: Make sure you camera is a supported model. This firmware will only work with Canon digital cameras, and required the model to be a supported version. Over two dozen versions are supported, so you should be okay with your point and shoot. Step 2:
Remove the SD card from your camera and put it in the card reader of your PC.
Extract the files from the firmware zip file that you have downloaded.
Copy the files PS.fir and Diskboot.bin into the root folder of your SD card.
If you are on a Mac, read and follow this link
Put the SD card back into the camera
How To Use It
Switch the camera into View (not Shoot) mode, and turn it on. When you press the Menu button, you should notice a new menu option: Firm Update. Select this option (remember, it's non-destructive) and the CHDK software will be loaded on your camera, which should reboot itself. Immediately, you'll see a display of battery percentage and storage remaining.
The extra features can be accessed and configured via "Alt mode," an alternate mode into which you toggle by pressing a particular key. Generally it is Print key; it may be different on your camera. It is also configurable with the Alt menu.
You can tell you're in Alt mode when there's a little displayed at the bottom of the screen.
After entering Alt mode, press the Menu key to bring up the menu. This reveals all sorts of options: customizing the on-screen display (called the "OSD"), playing games, you name it. Use the camera's directional keys to navigate the menu.
Does using the CHDK program void your warranty?
First, please bear in mind that CHDK comes with no warranty for any use; you use it at your own risk. What follows is just a few thoughts, and is not a legal opinion. Many believe that using the CHDK does not harm your warranty, since it is said to be loaded into the memory only temporarily (turn off the cam and it's gone completely) and that it leaves the original camera firmware untouched. Canon Tech Support says: "Unfortunately, any upgrades to the software of the camera not performed by an authorized Canon Repair Facility, would void the warranty." ... and ... In further discussion with Canon about this specific hack, their response is: "If it is not Canon firmware the warranty would be void." Is it an "upgrade" of the camera firmware when the firmware remains untouched? It's up to you to decide. Don't use it if you are not willing to take the slightest chance. Many many people have used CHDK on their cameras and there is no report of any permanent malfunction. Thus, CHDK appears to be quite safe to use as long as you make sure that it's the CHDK and not a real firmware update. Addressing their second comment (i.e. "if it is not Canon firmware"): CHDK is NOT firmware. By very definition, FIRMware is software that remains in the memory of the device when it is not using any power-source.
However, this is not a legal opinion and the user accepts all risk of using it. And as a practical matter, if you send your camera in for warranty service, you can just wipe or remove the card.

Happy clicking! bye.